Challenger
by darkfire1220
Summary: Ash sets off on his journey to be a Pokemon Master with his starter Charmander and a mischievous Pichu. Together, they battle countless enemies and add to their powerful family. But there are many dark secrets residing in the shadows, and some of them are deadly. Ash and his team must grow strong to survive- because there's no guarantee they'll make it through the challenges ahead.
1. The First Step

**_Challenger_**

 _Chapter One: The First Step_

In the quaint settlement of Pallet Town, morning sunlight filtered into a small bedroom. In that room, a boy was awake and getting ready for quite possibly the most important day of his short life. Ash Ketchum was about to leave home and begin his travels as a Pokemon trainer.

"Ash! Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, just a second!" Ash called back to answer his mother.

Ash was ten years old. Well, a little older than that. Rather, it had been six months since he'd turned ten, but he and the rest of his class had had to postpone their starting date as trainers. Usually, trainers set off on their journeys once they reached their first decade, but circumstances in the Indigo League had forced them to stagger that date. Over the last ten years or so, Indigo had only held its Pokemon League every other year because the region had just gotten out of a major world war.

For nearly fifteen years, the region of Orre had been under the influence of a dangerous rogue military organization called Cipher, who had weaponized Pokemon by infecting them with the "Shadow" strain. Since Orre was hardly an organized region in the first place, Cipher took power easily with their Shadow Pokemon. When they finally turned their eyes to the rest of the world, the other regions could no longer ignore them.

What followed was the most brutal war in the history of the Leagues. Tens of thousands of people and Pokemon had died in combat, creating a generation gap so massive that most of the regions now consisted of children and older individuals. Most of the average-age adults had fallen in the violent battles. Kanto and Johto suffered severe casualties, with Hoenn not far behind. The regions of Fiore and Almia had also participated, but the damage they suffered was so great that they secluded themselves and barred normal trainers from their borders for the sake of protecting their people.

Eventually, Cipher was only destroyed because an incredibly skilled agent from one of its own branch organizations went rogue. That young trainer swept through the ranks of Cipher with a unique capture device and a female partner that could identify the previously unrecognizable Shadow Pokemon. They had infiltrated right into Cipher's core and managed to crush their leader. The regions had gotten lucky.

With Cipher destroyed, the world settled back down, but it took a decade for things to even remotely resemble normalcy as it had before the war. That was why Indigo had added on to the amount of time trainers typically had to get stronger before the League Tournament began. They needed not only stronger trainers, but as many new ones as possible to fill the huge generation gap. The first tournament that took place immediately after the war consisted of just thirty two individuals. It had lasted for three days.

But new trainers had to wait until the League officially began the competitive season before setting out. That was why Ash and the few graduating members of his class had to wait an additional six months after his tenth birthday before they could leave home. Now that Spring had come along, aligning with the start of the new Indigo Tournament season, they could finally leave to begin their journeys.

He was just glad that he had passed Professor Oak's exams with flying colors. Oak only accepted three new trainers every six months. If Ash hadn't made the top three scores, he would have been forced to wait until the Fall to start his journey. That would have left him with six less months to train for the massive Indigo Tournament. Since the Indigo training season now lasted for two years, it wouldn't be a complete setback, but it was still valuable time lost.

Not to mention that Gary would have mocked him until the day he died.

The door to his bedroom opened to reveal Delia Ketchum, his mother. She had a bright smile on her face as always and leaned against the doorway to watch him. "Do you have everything you need?"

"I think so," Ash replied. "All the supplies we got at the store last week are already in my bag. I think the only things I'm missing are Professor Oak's gear and a Pokemon."

"Have you decided which one you want?"

He grinned widely. "Oh yeah."

He'd been thinking about that for years- ever since he decided to be a trainer, actually. It had been incredibly hard to choose just one of the three starters Oak offered to young trainers because they were so varied. Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. All three of the starters were rare and highly prized Pokemon.

Bulbasaur was a hardy little grass type with great versatility. It was specialized for immobilizing opponents with various spores and toxins, then wiping them out. It's ability to effectively halt an enemy in its tracks made it very desirable not only for battles, but captures. Bulbasaur could basically trap any wild Pokemon and make it an incredibly easy catch- a great asset for any trainer. Both of its evolved forms only improved on these abilities. Its final evolved form, Venusaur, was regarded as one of the most powerful grass species in Kanto for its incredibly vast capabilities- it could heal, attack, assist, defend...it was the adaptable trainer's ideal, with the potential to fulfill any role that was required.

Squirtle was the more defensive option of the trio. Its evolutionary line had developed an incredibly hard shell that was nigh impenetrable from physical attacks. Usually, only powerful elemental moves with super-effective advantages were enough to faze them. Along with its high defenses, Squirtle could pack a punch with high-pressure water blasts, not to mention its hard skull was also a useful weapon that it could use to stun opponents with powerful tackles or headbutts. Blastoise was prize of that evolutionary line. Anything that could punch through solid steel plates with hydro cannons was something to be greatly feared in combat. If that wasn't enough, Blastoise's natural bulk offered the potential for its trainer to turn it into a heavy, armored tank.

But Ash wanted neither Bulbasaur or Squirtle. Besides, Gary had basically laid claim to Squirtle already and Ash decided he wanted a different Pokemon than him.

Charmander, the fire type, was Ash's desired partner. Its breed was primed for attack power and speed, two attributes that could be put to great use in battle. Charmander and its evolutionary line could slash enemies with sharp claws and then blast them with intense flames. Even against a Pokemon with a type advantage, their onslaught could usually pull them through to victory. Charmeleon took Charmander's abilities and greatly improved them with enhanced speed and firepower. Its longer limbs, tougher scales, and sharper claws meant that it could deal out more damage and take more hits than its initial form.

And Ash sorely wanted a Charizard. Infamous for their fiery personalities and roaring popularity on the battlefield, the pseudo-dragons were absolute beasts when properly trained. They were capable of assaulting foes at range and close up with devastating strength on both the ground and in the air. Every aspect of their being was capable of doing damage- the powerful wings, sharp claws, the long, thrashing tail, the horns, the teeth, and even their breath. If a Charizard wanted to make its opponent hurt, there was no shortage of ways for it to ensure that happened. Even Lance, the Champion of Indigo, had a Charizard at his disposal. The monster of a fire type was arguably his second most powerful Pokemon despite not being a dragon type in the first place. Ash had once watched a battle between Lance's Charizard and Elite Four Bruno's Machamp on TV, and his decision on a starter had been made the second that Charizard used a move called Blast Burn to effectively demolish the field.

So he was getting a Charmander.

Delia checked her watch and smiled. "There's no rush, Ash. You've still got an hour before you have to be at the Professor's lab. Come on downstairs and have some breakfast."

Ash shouldered his bag and grinned at the prospect of starting the day with his mother's delicious cooking. "Alright!"

* * *

While the Ketchums ate breakfast together for the last time until Ash returned, Delia switched on the TV to see what the latest news was. It was always important these days to stay on top of the current events around the world.

 _"_ _-and there has recently been a swarm of Tailow sighted near Fuchsia City, likely on their migration pattern further south to Hoenn. Any trainers seeking to catch one, best hurry! Researchers expect the flocks to have passed through Kanto in the next two weeks. That's it for Pokemon News today. Expect the next update tomorrow, same time, same channel!"_

Delia sipped from her glass of tea and looked back to her son. "Make sure you keep up with the news while you're out traveling, okay, Ash? You never know when an exotic Pokemon species might be moving into the area you're in."

"I'll remember," Ash replied, then shoveled down the last of his scrambled eggs. He would definitely miss his mother's incredible food. After swallowing the remnants of breakfast, he looked at his mom. "I'm pretty sure the Pokedex has a feature that'll let me stay on top of news like that."

It was about time for him to leave. Before he could grab his bag, however, the TV came through with a breaking news story. Ash and his mother turned their eyes to the screen as a serious reporter appeared.

 _"_ _A group of criminals have been stealing Pokemon from trainers around Viridian City. Recent reports suggest that the group is affiliated with Team Rocket, a criminal syndicate operating throughout the Kanto Region and parts of Johto. Last night, the Pokemon Center in Viridian was raided by the thieves and several Pokemon were stolen. As a result, the League has ordered Gym Leader Giovanni to take action. All trainers are warned to avoid all contact with the Rockets and report any suspicious activity."_

Ash whistled. "That sounds pretty serious if Giovanni has to step in. He's the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto!"

"Yes. Yes, he is," Delia muttered. She had a frown on her face and seemed troubled.

Ash wondered on her disturbed expression, but shrugged and shouldered his bag. "Well, I'm heading off."

Delia immediately put a smile on her face and stood up. "I'll go with you to the lab. I have to start work in an hour anyways."

So the pair of them left the house together, discussing Ash's upcoming journey all the while.

* * *

They arrived at the lab shortly. Waiting for them were the other two children that had graduated Professor Oak's trainer class with Ash- Gary and Leaf. Ash grinned upon seeing them.

"What took you so long, Ashy-boy?" Gary smirked. "I was afraid you weren't going to show up!"

"And miss the chance to beat you down in a battle? There's no way I'd miss that!"

"Uh-huh. I'm sure," the taller boy snickered. He glanced to Ash's mother and nodded. "Morning, Ms. Ketchum."

Delia smiled. "Good morning, Gary. And you too, Leaf. Excited?"

Leaf smiled fiercely. "As if I couldn't be! I can't wait to get my Bulbasaur!"

"You only picked that because it's got an advantage over Squirtle," Gary jabbed. "Can't say I blame you, though. You'll need a type advantage to beat me!"

The girl gave him an innocent look. "Oh really? Who made the highest battle simulation scores again?"

Gary colored a bit and wisely looked away. He muttered under his breath. "…just because that stupid Shellder got a lucky hit off on Tangela…"

"It's not luck if that Shellder tanked two super effective hits and then busted you with Aurora Beam."

"Shut up!" Gary scowled.

"Now, now, that's enough."

The door to the lab opened up and revealed Professor Oak, who had apparently heard the exchange from inside. He wiped some of the exhaustion from his eyes, causing Ash to smirk. Oak practically lived in the lab and it was clear that he'd spent another sleepless night up researching.

Oak stifled a yawn and nodded to Ash's mother. "Good morning, Delia. Come to check on the love birds?"

"You and I both know they're anything but right now, Professor!" Delia laughed. "I'll get through to them eventually, though. Skarmory and Fearow won't have any idea what hit them!"

"I'll leave that pair in your capable hands, then," Oak grunted. "Now, you three. I assume you're all prepared to receive your starter Pokemon?"

Gary grinned widely. "Is that even a question, gramps? Course' we're ready!"

The older man smiled at his grandson's energy and gestured into the lab. "Well, come on, then. Let's not keep your Pokemon waiting. That Bulbasaur looked like it wanted to Vine Whip me last night. It wants to leave the lab now."

He led them inside and spoke to them on the way to the lab's main area. "As the three of you know, I'm conducting research on Pokemon. In return for me granting each of you a very rare Pokemon, I'm going to provide you with a Pokedex to gather information on Pokemon in the field. It comes with a database on Pokemon around the world and I expect you all to put it to good use."

Gary scoffed. "Aren't those three starters for like a third of the trainers in Kanto? They aren't spectacularly rare, gramps."

"These three _are_ rare. Not because of the species, but because of their moves," Oak informed him. "I wanted to keep this as a surprise until today. The three starters you are about to receive each have unique moves that have been bred into them from their parents, which are otherwise impossible to learn. You have Ms. Delia to thank for that. She took time out of her busy schedule here at the lab to make this possible."

Ash grinned at his mother for the pleasant surprise. "Is that why you came home late for so long?"

Delia laughed. "It is! I wanted the best for my boy and his friends!"

"Thank you so much, Ms. Ketchum!" Leaf practically squealed.

Gary was grinning so much that Ash though his face would split in half. "Aww, yeah! Ms. Ketchum, you're awesome! Thanks a million!"

"You are both most certainly welcome!"

Oak chuckled at their excitement. "Alright, now let's introduce the lot of you to your Pokemon, shall we?"

He walked over to a round table where three pokeballs lay alongside uniquely colored Pokedexes. The three kids had been given the option of customizing their own devices, although it was little more than picking their favorite color out. Ash's was a dark red, Gary's was blue, and Leaf's was green.

"Right, I believe you've all already selected the Pokemon you want, right? It seemed as though it was decided a while back. Leaf, you wanted Bulbasaur, correct? Ash wanted Charmander, and Gary Squirtle? Did I get that right?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Now then, ladies first. This is Bulbasaur."

Oak took the pokeball next to the green Pokedex and tapped the release button, sending out the Pokemon inside. A short, green Pokemon with four stubby legs and a plant bulb on its back materialized following a brief flash of light. The Bulbasaur glanced around curiously at its surroundings. It eventually spotted the Professor and gave him a dirty look.

"Easy, Bulbasaur. Your trainer is here, see?"

The little grass type looked at Leaf when Oak pointed and seemed to consider his words for a second. It nodded a second later, apparently satisfied with its new trainer.

Leaf knelt down so she was at Bulbasaur's level and held her hand out for the Pokemon to scan. She politely waited as Bulbasaur ran its two vines over her fingers. When the grass type finished and looked up at her, she smiled and spoke quietly so as not to startle it. "Hi there, Bulbasaur. I'm Leaf. It's nice to meet you! Would you like to travel with me?"

Bulbasaur's eyes lit up and it nodded vigorously. Oak laughed at its determined reaction. "He just wants to get out of my lab. I think he feels cooped up."

The grass type gave the Professor another dirty look and made a light growl. Oak just chuckled at the irritated little creature and moved to pick up Ash's pokeball. "Right, since Ash's mother was the one who bred these three, his Charmander is next."

Oak tapped the release on the new pokeball and after the light faded, a small, bipedal lizard with orange scales and a small flame on the tip of its tail stood in front of them. Charmander yawned, showing off its white fangs, and then observed the group with big, onyx colored eyes.

It glanced at Oak questioningly. The Professor gestured to Ash. "Your trainer has arrived, Charmander. Go on, say hello."

Charmander turned back around to look at Ash. It tilted its head curiously and made a little trilling nose in the back of its throat.

Ash also knelt in front of the little Pokemon and held his hand out. "Hey, Charmander. My name's Ash. I want to become the world's greatest Pokemon Master. Would you like to help out? I promise I'll make you as strong as you can be!"

The lizard perked up at that and its tail flame flared a bit. Like most Pokemon, Charmander held a nearly insatiable desire to become strong. This boy wanted to become the best in the world, and so did Charmander. That sounded great to the little fire type.

Charmander made a wide smile and swished its tail excitedly. Ash laughed. "All right! We'll get along just fine!"

"I'm sure you two will," Oak agreed. He picked up the last pokeball from the table. "Gary, this is your Squirtle."

The small Pokemon that appeared from the last pokeball was a blue turtle with an orange and yellow shell and a curly tail. It looked up at the group of kids and adults and smirked.

Gary didn't kneel in front of the turtle and just grinned. "I like the attitude, Squirtle. You think you've got what it takes to keep up with the greatest Pokemon trainer of all time?"

Squirtle's grin widened if that was possible and it nodded eagerly. Gary crossed his arms. "Good, then let's team up and open up a can of whoop ass on the whole Indigo League!"

"Language, young man," Oak snapped, though he didn't get particularly angry. The Professor handed out each of the three kids their Pokedexes and helped them with switching the devices on. "Now, why don't you three use those on your new partners? It'll act as a tutorial of sorts and give you a bit of information about your Pokemon."

The three nodded and held up their Pokedex's cameras to their new Pokemon so as to scan them. Before long, they each beeped and began to recite information in a mechanical, feminine voice.

 _Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokemon. It is born with a large seed on its back to accumulate nourishment for growth. Energy is also stored in the bulb that can be utilized in battle. Bulbasaur often take frequent naps in bright sunlight shortly before evolution._

 _This Bulbasaur is male and knows the moves: Vine Whip, Tackle, Power Whip, and Grassy Terrain. Its ability is Overgrow, which boosts its grass type moves when it is low on health._

Leaf grinned. "Wow, Bulbasaur! You're really strong, aren't you?"

Bulbasaur puffed up and seemed to be thoroughly proud of Leaf's assessment.

 _Charmander, the Lizard Pokemon. The flame on its tail indicates Charmander's health. If it's healthy, the flame will burn brightly. During battle, it attacks with sharp claws and fangs before spitting fire at opponents._

 _This Charmander is male and knows the moves: Ember, Scratch, Dragon Dance, and Dragon Rush. Its ability is Blaze, which boosts its fire type moves when it is low on health._

"Nice! Looks like you'll be a powerful little guy, huh Charmander?" Ash exclaimed.

The lizard simply waved his tail and smiled, showing off the sharp, white fangs once again.

 _Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle Pokemon. During battle, it hides itself in its shell and strikes with bursts of water at every opportunity. Squirtle uses its hard head to stun prey with tackles, then delivers fierce bites. As Squirtle prepares to evolve, its shell grows harder and it begins to develop sharp teeth._

 _This Squirtle is male and knows the moves: Water Gun, Tackle, Aura Sphere, and Dragon Pulse. Its ability is Torrent, which boosts its water type moves when it is low on health._

"All attacking moves, yes!" Gary practically whooped. He grinned madly. "Ms. Ketchum, you outdid yourself. That's a crazy good move set for a starter Pokemon!"

"I did my best," Delia smiled. "I'm glad you're so pleased with him."

Squirtle crossed his arms and smirked arrogantly. Obviously, he agreed with his trainer's not-so-humble opinion.

Oak coughed to get their attention once more. "Well, now that you've all met your partners, let me emphasize a few things regarding them- the moves your Pokemon have had bred into them are quite powerful for such young examples of their species, but I suggest you work hard practicing before actually using them in a battle. The more basic moves will be the ones they are best at. You probably won't see the true power of their egg moves until they've fully evolved."

The kids nodded. That made sense.

"Good. That's all I have for you. I trust the three of you remembered to get pokeballs, potions, and the other supplies from the store in town?"

When they all answered yes, Oak smiled. "Then you three are free to go. Good luck, and make sure to check up with me every now and again. I'll be keeping any Pokemon you have here at my lab after you reach the limit, so contact me if you need to exchange any of them."

"Yes, Professor," the three replied.

Now that they were free, Gary recalled Squirtle and immediately set off. Leaf picked up her new Bulbasaur carefully and carried it out of the lab, chatting to her Pokemon all the while. Professor Oak turned around and went over to his computer, switching it on and humming a light tune.

Ash looked at Charmander. "What about you, buddy? Do you want to stay out or do you want to go back into the pokeball?"

Charmander shook his head, so Ash didn't recall him. Delia walked up to him with a smile and hugged her son.

"You'll both do great. I can't wait to hear about all of your adventures," she murmured happily. "By the way, have you thought about nicknaming Charmander?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that!" Ash exclaimed. He looked back at Charmander. "Do you want a nickname, bud?"

Charmander held up one of his small, clawed hands and made a chirping sound. Ash took that as confirmation and began to run all of the nicknames he'd come up with in the last few months in case his Pokemon wanted one.

"Charagon?"

Charmander frowned and shook his head.

"Torch?"

Another shake of his head. Ash ended up going through about a dozen different options before he finally named one that Charmander liked.

"Pyro?"

Charmander's tail flared up a bit and he grinned. Ash grinned right back. "Pyro it is. Glad to have you with me, Pyro!"

The newly-named Pyro chirped happily and swished his tail around, evidently pleased with his name.

Ash was just about to suggest they head out when a loud shout from Professor Oak made him, Delia, and Pyro jump in surprise.

"Argh! You again?!"

Oak practically dove under his desk with a scowl on his face. He was apparently trying to catch something hiding down there.

Ash tilted his head. "Something wrong, Professor?"

"As a matter of fact, yes!" Oak growled from underneath the desk. "This little rodent is eating my computer cables _again!_ This is the third time this week! Do you have the foggiest idea how expensive these are, you little troublemaker?!"

There was a little snicker from under the desk and then Oak froze. "Don't you dare, you little sh- GAHH!"

The three onlookers jumped again as the Professor suddenly spasmed from an electric shock. Oak collapsed on the floor, twitching as sparks flickered over his body. A small, yellow and black Pokemon leapt onto his back with a wide grin on its face, still snickering.

Ash looked at the little creature curiously and held up his Pokedex. It beeped a second later.

 _Pichu, the Tiny Mouse Pokemon. Pichu plays with others by touching tails and setting off sparks. When startled, it may send out jolts of electricity. It uses its large ears to avoid danger._

He watched the Pichu jump up and down on the stunned Professor and grinned. It wasn't like electric types were rare, but this was a nice find compared to the common Rattata and Pidgey nesting around Pallet Town.

"Hey, Professor! Can I catch this one?" Ash asked.

"Yes, just get it out of my poor lab," Oak moaned weakly. "The little rat has already cost me more money in repairs than I care to admit."

Pichu snickered at Oak again and then turned its gaze to Ash, Delia, and Pyro. It grinned and leapt off the paralyzed Professor, apparently challenging them.

Ash grinned right back. "Pyro, you ready for a battle?"

Pyro lashed his fiery tail from side to side and the trilling sound he made changed to a hiss. His eyes narrowed with determination and his claws flexed.

Pichu snickered and suddenly its cheek pouches were sparking with electricity. Ash only had a second to react before it fired a weak Thundershock at Pyro in the form of a thin bolt.

"Dodge it!"

Pyro leaped to the side and avoided the tiny shock, which danced harmlessly along the floor of the lab before sputtering out. He growled at Pichu as it continued to snicker and its cheeks sparked with more electricity.

"Ember attack!"

The Charmander opened its mouth and spat a barrage of small, hot fireballs at the mouse, which quickly scurried away to avoid the attack. Ash winced when the flames scorched the wall, but thankfully didn't cause them to catch fire. Pyro charged Pichu after the Ember missed and started to swipe at it with his sharp claws. Pichu danced away from the move, snickering all the while.

Pyro was quickly getting frustrated, so Ash called out to him. "Keep going, Pyro! Just like that!"

At his command, the fire type continued to scratch at Pichu, backing the little electric type up as it snickered at him. Suddenly, Pichu bumped into the wall and froze in surprise. It had nowhere else to go.

"Now! Ember!"

Pyro grinned in delight and blasted Pichu with many of the small flames. The electric type cried out from the burning assault and launched another Thundershock, which managed to hit Pyro in the stomach. The Charmander growled angrily at the shock, then lunged forward and landed a Scratch on Pichu. The attack smacked the tiny mouse against the wall, stunning it.

Ash had been scrambling to get a pokeball out of his bag while the fight was going on and had one primed just as Pyro knocked Pichu against the wall. He called out. "Pyro, step to the side!"

The Charmander did as he said, giving Ash a clear line of sight to Pichu. He threw the pokeball and tagged the stunned Pichu, causing the device to open and suck the electric type inside with red light. The ball closed and hit the floor, wriggling furiously.

They waited with bated breath as the pokeball continued to wriggle for a few seconds. Then it made a clicking sound and stilled.

Ash's grin came back tenfold. "Yes! I caught it!"

"Good job, Ash!" Oak praised as he managed to stand up, albeit still wincing from the electric shock. "That was skillfully done. Not to mention you just saved me quite a bit of money on repairs."

"I'm so proud of you!" Delia exclaimed, wrapping her son in a tight hug. "You're already on your way to being an amazing trainer!"

Ash managed to hug her back and wheezed as the air was crushed from his lungs. "Thanks, mom. But Pyro did the work, y'know."

"And he did a very good job," Delia released Ash and smiled at the Charmander. "You were great, Pyro! You'll be really powerful in no time!"

Pyro smiled toothily and made a loud chirp at the praise.

Ash picked up the pokeball that contained Pichu and stared at it. "What was it doing in here, anyway?"

"Eating my computer cords," Oak growled. "Electric types can consume electricity as a food source. Anything with an electric current is like a never-ending banquet to them. Usually, they don't come into the lab because I have a charge station in the corral specifically designed for electric types, but that little rat is quite the prankster. It prefers to give me grief and eat my important equipment rather than take the easy way out in the corral."

"It'll still eat regular Pokemon food, right?" The boy asked anxiously. "I don't have that many electric items in my bag."

The Professor nodded. "Yes. There are charge stations at Pokemon Centers that Pichu can eat from, though. I'd advise letting it do that as much as possible. Pichu are fairly weak electric types, so they have to build up their electricity by consuming it."

Delia glanced at Pyro, who was sniffing at the spot on his belly where he'd been shocked. "I think you should recall Pyro and let him and Pichu recover in the Professor's healing machine. You don't want to set off with your Pokemon already tired out."

"Okay," Ash held Pyro's pokeball out and smiled at the fire type. "You did great, Pyro. Take a quick break, alright?"

The Charmander chirped again as Ash recalled him. Oak took both of the pokeballs from the boy and carried them over to another room, where they could be healed on a special machine.

Ash's mother tapped his shoulder. "Check your Pokedex on Pichu. It should be updated with Pichu's information now that you've captured it. Find out what moves it knows."

He did exactly that, pulling out the device and selecting the tab indicating the Pokemon he owned. Ash tapped on Pichu's name and the Pokedex recited its information.

 _This Pichu is male and knows the moves: Thundershock, Tail Whip, and Tackle. It's ability is Static, which can paralyze opponents that make physical contact with Pichu._

Ash smiled. "Pichu will probably be great for catching other Pokemon if he can paralyze them. I think I'll have to test that out on the road."

"You'll want to train it up a good deal before trying that, I think," Oak suggested. "From what I can tell, it's a pretty low level. It only stunned me for a minute at the most. A wild Pokemon will shake off a move like that even quicker."

"Alright," he replied. "How long until they're finished healing?"

"Just a few minutes. You should take this chance to look through the Pokedex some more. You'll want to learn how to use it as best you-"

The door was suddenly thrown open and Gary stepped in with a frustrated look. "Hey, Ash! Stop goofing around! I've been waiting outside for like ten minutes to challenge you to a battle!"

Ash scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I got distracted trying to catch a Pokemon."

Gary stared in surprise. "Wait, what?"

"I found that Pichu I was telling you about eating my computer cables," Oak growled in annoyance. "Ash was kind enough to set his Charmander on the little rat and capture it."

Gary's jaw dropped. "What?! You're kidding me! You haven't even left the lab and you already caught a Pokemon?!"

Before Ash could even get a word in, Gary jabbed a finger at him. "Whatever! I'll just go and catch more Pokemon than you! Smell ya later, Ashy-boy!"

With that, Gary whipped around and bolted out the door. Ash blinked after him. The guy would probably catch the first Pokemon he saw.

Oak sighed at his grandson's brashness. "I hope he remembers to actually battle the Pokemon he finds before trying to catch them. He can be forgetful when he gets riled up like that."

Delia smiled and hugged her son once again. "Ash, I'm going to get to work in the corral. Make sure you let me know when you reach Viridian City, okay?"

"I will," Ash promised.

"Good. You take good care of Pyro and Pichu, alright? They're your friends now. You have to trust them."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Alright. Well, goodbye sweetheart. Good luck!" Delia kissed the top of his head, then turned around and left through another room. Ash smiled after her.

A few minutes later, Oak returned Ash's pokeballs to him. The Professor nodded at the boy. "I really am grateful that you captured Pichu, Ash. You'll do well with him once you curb that mischievous side of him a bit."

Ash smirked. "I think it'll just be a matter of channeling that mischief in a good direction. Thanks for healing my Pokemon, Professor Oak."

"You're welcome. Now, you'd best be off. Viridian City is a two day walk from here, not to mention that Gary and Leaf have a head start on you!"

The boy nodded, spinning on his heels as he bolted out of the door. He set Pyro loose and grinned at the Charmander. "C'mon, Pyro! Let's get going!"

Pyro swished his tail and let out a delighted chirp as he chased after his trainer.

* * *

Ash and Pyro took to walking along the trail once they got onto Route 1. They both needed to walk to build up their stamina. Ash knew that Pyro was still young, so the Charmander needed to exercise as much as possible to build up muscle.

Most of the morning was fairly relaxed. Ash just talked to Pyro about himself. Things he liked, disliked, his dreams, his mom- everything he could think of. Pyro just listened and occasionally made a trilling laugh, like when Ash told him about how he and Gary wrestled in the mud when they were toddlers.

They saw a few wild Pokemon while they were walking, but Ash decided not to make Pyro battle again quite yet. He figured it would be a better idea to get some training done before they challenged another wild Pokemon, or at least make sure Pichu would listen to him. After all, Pyro and Pichu weren't particularly strong yet. The pair of them were little more than freshly-hatched Pokemon.

When Ash eventually ran out of things to tell Pyro about and they fell into a comfortable silence, he began to think about what the Charmander should practice once they began training. He obviously needed to work on power and Ash really wanted to try and work on Pyro's egg moves. At the same time, he was debating how they were going to win at their first gym battle.

While Viridian City had a gym, it was all but banned to any trainer without seven badges. Giovanni was a ruthless battler, and he was no foe any new trainer could face with even a hope of victory.

Pewter City was his best bet. The gym leader there wasn't weak, but it was the nearest gym that would use low level Pokemon for battles there. Most gyms were like that- depending on how strong a challenger was, they would adjust their strength accordingly. The only gyms that didn't hold back their strength were the ones in Viridian, Saffron City, and Cinnabar Island. Ash was far away from Saffron and Cinnabar; he wouldn't be challenging them anytime soon, and Giovanni was completely out of the question.

The man had only given out three badges in the last five years. He was an absolute beast.

Ash shook his head. He could think about fighting the stronger gym leaders later, once his Pokemon were trained and he had a few badges under his belt. For now, he needed to focus on the first one- Pewter City.

The gym leader there used rock type Pokemon. They were quite strong, but had many weaknesses that were easy to exploit. There was just one problem- Ash had no Pokemon with a type advantage over them. In fact, quite the opposite, both Pyro and Pichu were vulnerable to them. Pyro was weak to rock type moves and since a fair few rock types were complemented with ground type attributes, Pichu would be even less capable of fighting. Electricity did absolutely nothing to ground types.

Ash actually had no idea what to do about Pichu aside from train him for later battles, but Pyro he could work with. He'd practically memorized the moves Charmander could learn, after all. His best bet against rock type opponents was to teach Pyro Metal Claw, which was a steel type move that could rend even a rock type's tough exterior. He hoped that was enough. Relying on a single move in a gym battle against multiple opponents generally wasn't the best plan.

He continued to think as they walked, hoping that a good strategy would eventually come to mind.

* * *

It was just after midday when they ran into Leaf.

Ash stopped when Pyro chirped and gestured further up the path with his short arm. He grinned when he saw Leaf and her Bulbasaur at the base of a tree. The girl was kneeling and stood back up with a pokeball in her hand and a wide smile on her face.

"Hey, Leaf!"

Leaf spun around and Bulbasaur growled at the surprise. She grinned and waved at him. "Hey, Ash! You finally caught up!"

He walked over with Pyro still beside him. "Sorry, I ended up catching a Pokemon that was causing the Professor trouble in his lab."

"Oh, really?" Leaf giggled. "I thought you just couldn't escape from your mom. She's so cool! Saur here actually just won a battle for me with Power Whip! I think he practiced it before I got him!"

"That is cool," Ash admitted. "Saur, huh? So you gave your Pokemon a nickname?"

She nodded. "What about you?"

"I did, too," he gestured to Charmander. "His name is Pyro."

"Nice to meet you, Pyro," Leaf smiled at the little fire type cheerfully. Pyro waved his stubby hand back at her, making a happy trill. Saur just grunted and shuffled over to a sunny patch on the trail.

Ash looked at the pokeball in her hand. "So, what did you catch?"

"A Spearow. He was giving Saur the evil eye and it was on from there. Saur just smacked him right out of the tree! It was a pretty quick battle. What did you catch?"

"You mean the little troublemaker from the Professor's lab?" Ash grinned. "A Pichu. He's not too strong, but once I train him, I think those electric shocks of his will come in handy. Pyro was great at battling him."

Pyro swished his tail and grinned proudly with his trainer. Leaf snorted, seeing as the pair of them were already so similar.

Ash suddenly smirked. "Hey, you and I both have two Pokemon now. How about a battle?"

"As much as I would love to beat you, I don't think that would be fair right now," Leaf refused politely. "Saur just got done fighting and I'm pretty sure Spearow is unconscious."

"Gotcha. How about we travel to Viridian City together, then? We can heal up at the Pokemon Center and battle there."

"Now that I'm down for," she agreed.

* * *

They spent the rest of the day walking along the trail together, chatting about each other's goals and plans. Leaf was just as determined as Ash and Gary to be the best Pokemon trainer out there. Her idol was the Kanto Champion Lance, after all. Of course, a lot of trainers looked up to the legendary Dragon Master, including Ash. He was said to be one of the most powerful trainers in the entire world, commanding his ferocious team of dragons and draconic Pokemon flawlessly.

Watching Lance fight was awe-inspiring, even on a TV. Ash couldn't imagine how epic those battles must be up close and personal. But since it was his dream to become the greatest Pokemon Master in the world, he would have to face the Champion in battle one day. And he would have to win.

But that was a long way off- years away at least. For now, he just had to worry about getting his first gym badge. Baby steps, his mother always told him.

Ash and Leaf finally stopped walking when the sun began to set. They found a small clearing just off the trail and decided to make camp. He gathered the firewood with Pyro while Leaf and Saur cleaned up the area of leaves and rocks and such. When they were all done with chores and the sleeping bags were out, Pyro lit the firewood with his tail flame and the little group settled down.

"I think now's probably a good time to meet our new Pokemon, Ash," Leaf suggested. "Don't you think? They're probably less likely to freak out now that we're all relaxed."

"Alright. I'll set Pichu loose first?" He asked.

"Fine by me. I need to grab a Potion for Spearow, anyways. He's probably still a bit shaken up."

Ash nodded and took out Pichu's pokeball. He tapped the release button and a moment later, the little electric type stood before him. Pichu's eyes were closed initially, but they opened up blearily after a second or two.

"Hey there, Pichu," Ash smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"

Pichu looked around and seemed rather confused. Ash did his best to fill him in. "I captured you at the lab, remember?"

The electric type's eyes cleared in understanding and he nodded. Feeling more optimistic considering how well Pichu was responding, Ash took a chance and held his hand out to him. "Listen, Pichu. I'm on a journey to become the greatest Pokemon Master in the world. I'd really like for you to join me. I promise to make you as strong as you can be. How about it? Do you wanna travel with us?"

Pyro made a friendly chirp in an effort to appear welcoming. Pichu smiled happily and reached up with his tiny paw to tap Ash's hand. But as he watched, the innocent smile turned into a familiar, devilish smirk.

A shock of electricity suddenly made his whole body spasm and jerk. Ash ended up on the ground with a yelp and began to twitch randomly. Pichu's smirk turned into a full on grin as he laughed triumphantly.

Across the fire, Leaf and Saur were practically in hysterics. The girl was rolling in the dirt while crying and gasping for breath through a giggling fit. Her Bulbasaur was making a barking sound that apparently amounted to the same thing. Even Pyro was chuckling a little, seeing as his trainer wasn't actually hurt from the shocking prank.

Ash got most of his body back under control inside of a minute. He leered up at Pichu, who was sitting on his chest and sniggering with delight. "You're an ornery little creature, aren't you?"

Pichu snickered agreeably at the description and jumped off of Ash. He didn't make too much of a fuss though, so Ash figured that the prank was probably more for laughs than actual disobedience. The boy sat up and gave Leaf a deadpan look as she continued to shriek with laughter.

"It wasn't that funny!"

"Are you _kidding me?!"_ Her chest was heaving and it seemed like there wasn't enough oxygen in the air to fuel her hysterics. "You squeaked like a Rattata and started flopping around like a Magikarp!"

Pichu and Saur nodded agreement, both of them still sniggering madly. Ash reddened and looked away. Pyro came over and crawled into his trainer's lap, keeping his tail flame on the ground where it wouldn't hurt Ash. He had gotten over the amusement of the prank and decided to give his trainer some comfort to ease his ruffled pride.

At least Gary hadn't seen that one. It would've been way worse.

Leaf eventually got over her giggle fit and managed to remember how to breathe. She took a drink of water from her canteen and offered some to Saur. The grass type took a small sip, then settled down and began to close his eyes.

Ash looked at Pichu once the electric type finished laughing over his prank. "Say, do you want a nickname?"

Pichu considered it for a bit, then shrugged and shook his head. Ash figured that the electric type decided his prankster attitude was plenty enough to be remembered without a unique name, so he just went with it. "Alright then. Let me know if you change your mind, okay?"

Pichu nodded and then yawned. Apparently, he was feeling tired. Considering how young Pichu was and the time of night, Ash wasn't surprised. He pulled out Pichu's pokeball.

"Do you want to sleep outside, or in the ball?"

Ash blinked when Pichu took one look at the pokeball and bristled, giving it the best evil eye such a small creature could muster. He had to admit, the amount of dislike that was carried in that gaze was actually impressive.

"I'll take that as a no."

A nod from the mouse confirmed his guess and Ash put the pokeball away. Pichu relaxed once it was out of sight and looked around for a spot to get comfortable. He finally just crawled on top of Pyro and settled there. Surprisingly, the fire lizard didn't seem to mind. Though then again, Pichu's weight was probably next to unnoticeable.

Ash lightly ran his fingers through Pichu's thin fur and felt a slight current run through him, though it wasn't painful. It made him shiver, but the electricity Pichu's body gave off was just a side effect of his Static Ability.

Across the fire, Leaf took out her own pokeball and set her newly captured Spearow loose. The bird looked like he had been beaten down quite thoroughly, and was too tired to even give his trainer that classic Spearow glare.

Leaf winced sympathetically once she saw the bird's sorry state. "Ouch. Sorry about getting so rough with you earlier, Spearow. How about I heal you up? I've got a Potion that will make your wounds stop hurting."

Spearow just nodded exhaustedly and Ash quietly whistled. Saur had really done a number on Spearow to have knocked all the fire out of the small bird. The knowledge that flying types had an inherent advantage over grass types apparently meant nothing in the face of the Bulbasaur's aggressive battling style.

Leaf evidently agreed with him. She frowned with worry when Spearow failed to even squawk an objection and gently sprayed the Potion over the injuries Saur had inflicted. The bird initially flinched away from the stinging sensation brought on by the rapid healing process a Potion instigated, but relaxed once the pain of his wounds started to fade away.

Spearow ruffled his feathers and seemed a bit more relaxed now that he didn't feel as though he'd been smashed all over the forest. Which, in fact, he had been.

"Feeling better?" Leaf asked.

When the bird nodded, she smiled brightly. "Good. Spearow, I want to know if you'd like to travel with me. I'll help train you into a really strong Fearow. What do you think? Is that okay?"

They paused when they heard a loud snore and everyone looked over to Saur, who was now deeply asleep. Spearow leered at the grass type furiously and made a low squawk, agreeing with Leaf whilst simultaneously promising vengeance one day on his ruthless teammate.

Leaf stroked Spearow's feathers to help him relax and gazed between her two Pokemon with a sigh. "That might take a while to work on. You're pretty lucky Pyro and Pichu get along so well, Ash."

"I think they're just too tired to think about fighting right now, but yeah," he agreed. Ash yawned and settled down in his sleeping bag. Pyro made a slight grumble for the disturbance, but didn't move. Pichu was already asleep and hadn't even noticed.

Leaf smiled as the young Pokemon all began to fall asleep and murmured to Spearow. "You can sleep wherever you want. If you want to sleep in one of the trees around the camp, that's fine. I'll wake you up when we're about to head out tomorrow, okay?"

Spearow chirped and quickly flew to a low-hanging branch. The bird shuffled around a few times, then closed his eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.

Seeing as all the Pokemon were now happily slumbering away, their trainers joined them soon after.

* * *

Waking up the next morning reminded the group that they'd basically forgotten dinner the night before. Ash and Leaf hastily gave their famished teams a can of Pokemon food for each one. Pyro, Saur, and Spearow ate rather cleanly. Pichu on the other hand…

They all basically stopped eating to gape at Pichu as the mouse shoveled food into his mouth like a never-ending conveyer belt. Crumbs got everywhere and his cheek pouches were swelling rapidly.

Ash put a stop to that. "Pichu, slow down! You don't want to choke!"

Pichu tried to snap a retort and paid for it by getting food caught in his throat. The little electric type furiously beat his chest with a tiny paw in an effort to get breakfast down.

With a sigh, Ash pulled out his canteen and offered it to Pichu. He held it up and tilted it when Pichu grabbed the bottle furiously, watching as the mouse took a big gulp and managed to free the trapped food in his throat. The mouse sat down and sighed in relief, wiping crumbs and water from his mouth.

Ash smirked and scratched Pichu around his pointy ears. "Settle down. There's no rush. I'd rather you eat slow than choke trying to stuff it all down as fast as you can."

Pichu nodded and let out a little belch. Ash chuckled and returned to a tree stump where his own breakfast lay. He looked over his shoulder a second later and was happy to see that Pichu was eating again, albeit a good deal slower.

Leaf looked up at him from where she was eating beside Saur. "So I figure we cover some ground this morning. Viridian City isn't too far away now, so we could probably make it there by noon. We can heal our Pokemon there and then have that battle."

"Sounds like a plan," Ash agreed. He took a bite from his sandwich and chewed thoughtfully for a few seconds. "After that I think I'm going to stay in Viridian for a day or two. I really need to get some training done with Pyro and Pichu. Pyro needs to learn Metal Claw before I challenge the Pewter Gym and Pichu has to work on boosting his power. What about you?"

"I'm leaving right after our battle. I think Saur and Spearow will get a fair bit stronger fighting all the bug types in Viridian Forest," Leaf explained. "Even if Saur's only a little bit stronger once we get to Pewter City, I'm pretty sure he can beat down a couple of rock types."

Saur growled agreement. Spearow let out a low shriek at the grass type, then returned to his breakfast. The Bulbasaur seemed to be contemplating whether or not to Vine Whip the impudent bird, but then decided that his food was more important.

Their trainer groaned. "And I'll have to work on their teamwork. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll run into a double battle in Viridian Forest. I think they'd make a scary team- Spearow can stun opponents and then Bulbasaur can pulverize them."

Ash mentally apologized to any and every poor bug catcher in Viridian Forest that was unfortunate enough to challenge Leaf to a battle. He was pretty sure the girl would frighten even Pewter City's gym leader. She was just ruthless.

"Alright, well let's get going once everyone is finished eating. I want to get as much training done today as possible," he stated.

"Agreed."

* * *

Another problem with Pichu arose when they were ready to travel. Ash and Leaf decided to recall their Pokemon so as to move faster, but Pichu took one look at the pokeball and blatantly threatened Ash whenever the device was pointed at him. Fortunately, Ash wasn't stupid enough to risk the mouse's wrath and simply let Pichu hitch a ride on his shoulder while they walked. It was a good thing the electric type weighed basically nothing- they had a lot of ground to cover.

The road to Viridian City was quiet, as expected. Ash and Leaf ended up discussing strategies to use at the Pewter Gym (though Leaf's basically amounted to snagging the rock types with Saur's Vine Whip and then beating them into oblivion). It became uncomfortably clear to Ash that his team really was limited in their ability to fight rock types.

The more they talked about it, the more obvious it was- even if Pyro mastered Metal Claw before they made it to the gym, rock types had incredibly high defenses because of their tough exterior. Assuming he could beat down the first opponent, Pyro would probably be too exhausted to win against the second rock type. He just didn't have the power in his current evolutionary stage. Also, if he got knocked out, Pichu's weak Thundershocks and Tackles would do little more than tickle the gym leader's Pokemon.

Ash's shoulders slumped when he realized that this first gym was already going to be the hardest challenge he'd ever faced. Leaf could only pat his back sympathetically.

By the time noon came around, Viridian City was in sight. The two trainers made one last push to reach the Pokemon Center and were relieved when the red-roofed building was finally in front of them. Leaf led the way into the center and to the front desk.

Nurse Joy was a face familiar to practically anyone. The woman smiled as Ash and Leaf approached her at the desk. "Good morning! Welcome to the Pokemon Center. How can I help you?"

"Our Pokemon need to be healed," Ash started politely. "Also, are we able to register for the Indigo League here?"

"You most certainly can. Do you two have Pokedexes or other IDs?"

Both Ash and Leaf procured their Pokedexes and Joy took them both for a minute, installing them into a computer slot so that they could be registered. Once that was taken care of, she handed the devices back with a smile. "There you are. Now just place your Pokemon on a tray and I'll have them checked over shortly."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," they both said gratefully. Ash and Leaf placed their pokeballs on a tray and Pichu simply hopped onto it. A Chansey came by and took the pokeballs and Pichu to the back moments later, apparently not surprised that one of its patients was unconfined.

"You're welcome," Joy replied. "By the way, are either of you planning to stay the night?"

Ash nodded, but Leaf shook her head. "I'm leaving after we battle. I want to make some progress through Viridian Forest while there's still daylight left."

Joy frowned for a moment. "Make sure you stock up on Antidotes at the Pokemon Mart. The bug types in the forest are very fond of using poison in battle."

The two trainers thanked her again for the information and retreated to the cafe once Ash got a room key for the night. Ash and Leaf rested for the better part of an hour, enjoying their food and the chance to sit down after walking all the way from Pallet Town.

Once the hour was up, Joy called them on the overhead speakers. "Ash, Leaf, your Pokemon are ready to be picked up!"

Ash stood with a grin. "You ready for a battle, Leaf?"

Leaf smirked right back. "Are you?"

They raced to make it to the front desk.

* * *

Five minutes later, Ash and Leaf faced off on the dirt training field behind the Pokemon Center. The two trainers were grinning at each other widely, unable to contain their excitement.

Leaf called across the field. "So what's it gonna be? One on one, or two on two?"

"Is that a question?" Ash reached up to scratch Pichu's ears. The mouse was firmly latched onto his shoulder once more- he seemed fond of the spot. "Two on two! Let's test out our new partners!"

"Alright. Just remember, you asked for it!" Leaf took her first pokeball and hurled it up. "Saur, you're up!"

The Bulbasaur materialized and growled. He gave Ash a glare that showed he meant business. Ash was all for it.

He set Pyro loose and the Charmander immediately swished his burning tail from side to side. Pyro took a look at Saur, then glanced back at Ash questioningly. His trainer grinned. "We're going to battle Leaf, Pyro. Don't hold back!"

Pyro's eyes flashed with excitement and he turned back to Saur with a hiss in his throat. The grass type growled again, unperturbed that his opponent was a fire type.

Leaf made the first move.

"Saur, Vine Whip it!"

Saur's vines shot out from his bulb like twin snakes, then lashed out at Pyro's head and body. Ash reacted as quickly as he could.

"Dodge, then Ember!" Ash countered.

Pyro ducked under the vine aiming for his head, leaped over the one going for his body, then spat a volley of small fireballs at his opponent. Saur frantically scrambled out of the way and dodged. The Bulbasaur stopped when the Ember ended and peered at Pyro warily. Apparently, he wasn't quite as fearless as he appeared to be.

Leaf wasn't about to let Saur give in to some flames, though. "Tackle it. Follow up with Power Whip!"

As Saur lunged at his target, Ash frowned. He really didn't want Pyro to be on the receiving end of Power Whip, even if he resisted it by type. After all, Saur had knocked out Spearow with the same move. Even though he doubted Power Whip would knock out Pyro, it would still deal a lot more damage than he was entirely comfortable with.

He decided to try something risky. "Intercept it with Dragon Rush!"

Pyro's tail flame flared and his large pupils narrowed into slits. As he began to charge Saur, the grass type froze and just stared, shivering slightly. Pyro picked up speed and crashed harshly into the Bulbasaur, knocking his prey off its feet and sending it sprawling. The Charmander hissed and spat another Ember which made contact this time.

Saur cried out in pain and reeled away from Pyro's onslaught. Leaf called out to him, alarmed and trying to get her Pokemon back into gear. He didn't look anywhere near as confident as when the battle began, and completely forgot about using Power Whip on his fire type opponent.

Ash vaguely remembered that Dragon Rush could make an opponent flinch sometimes from the sheer ferocity of the attack. What Pyro had executed was basically just an overrated Tackle, but it was nice to know that the flinch effect could still take hold even if Dragon Rush was still totally unmastered. Pyro probably hadn't managed to use any actual draconic energy. It was far from perfect.

He wouldn't worry about it now. It worked, and that was all that mattered. Saur was injured and stunned- there was no better opportunity to finish him off.

"Pyro, use Ember again! Keep going until it goes down!"

The Charmander thrashed his tail from side to side and unleashed more of the small flames. Saur avoided the first few shots, but winced and collapsed a moment later. It was obvious that Pyro's Dragon Rush, though incomplete, had dealt a fair amount of damage. With the Bulbasaur unable to move, Pyro spat another burst of small flames and made a direct hit. When he stopped to see the effects, Saur was unconscious.

Ash's grin widened tenfold. "Great job, Pyro!"

Pyro spat a few small flames into the air and let out a delighted chirp. He seemed to bask in the light of his victory.

Leaf recalled Saur and put his pokeball away. "Not bad, but you lucked out with that Dragon Rush. It's just a scarier version of Tackle."

"We've got to work on it, but it's pretty great, huh?" Ash replied. He returned Pyro and reached up to scratch Pichu's ears. "Alright Pichu, get out there."

Pichu leaped down from his shoulder and scurried onto the field, his cheek pouches sparking while he snickered. Leaf smirked at the mouse and took out her second pokeball. "You got lucky beating Saur, Ash, but good luck beating Talon!"

Her Spearow was released into the air with a loud shriek. He glared at Pichu with arrogance, clearly finding the electric mouse to be below him in standing.

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Talon? When did you nickname him?"

"Just before we left camp this morning," Leaf answered. She looked utterly confident despite Saur's loss. Her Spearow shrieked again and Leaf responded. "Get that Pichu, Talon! Fury Attack!"

Talon instantly dove with a flap of his small wings. His beak was aimed right for Pichu, ready to stab and peck until the mouse was unable to battle.

"Avoid it, Pichu! Thundershock!" Ash shouted.

Pichu waited, still smirking as the Spearow closed in, then began to dance away from its attacks. All the while, he snickered and mocked the bird, occasionally shooting small bolts of electricity. The shocks were weak and didn't do too much damage to Talon, but they were enough to ruffle his smooth feathers.

Talon finally got tired of the Pichu's taunts and screeched furiously. The sudden blast of sound at close range made Pichu cringe and cover his ears. He froze up for just a split second.

Talon seized his opportunity with righteous fury.

He peppered Pichu with vicious pecks of his beak, hitting the electric mouse everywhere and anywhere he could. Pichu squeaked in pain and tried to shock the bird, but Talon was so furious that the weak electric attacks only egged him on further.

Pichu tried to Tackle his opponent when the electricity failed, but Talon took the hit like it was nothing and then whacked the mouse over the head with his wing. His opponent hit the ground and lay there in defeat. Talon shrieked his victory and flew back to Leaf, landing on her arm and seemingly sneering at Ash and the defeated Pichu.

Ash sighed and recalled the electric type into his pokeball. He couldn't say he was surprised. Talon had lived in the wild for probably close to a year. Pichu was hardly a few months old. Even with his type advantage, if Pichu's moves were weak than to the Spearow they were nothing more than attempts to piss him off. And pissed him off, they had.

Leaf smiled and scratched Talon's head feathers lightly. "Good boy. That was a great battle."

The Spearow cawed, causing his trainer to smirk. Leaf recalled her Pokemon and waited as Ash walked over. He was still grinning. "So we call it a draw?"

"For now," she admitted. "But I'll really beat you down the next time we meet!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

They walked back to the Pokemon Center together and got their worn-out teams to Nurse Joy. Within an hour, all four of their Pokemon were healed completely and Leaf headed out to the Viridian Forest. Ash watched her go and then walked back to the training field.

He took a deep breath and released his revitalized Pokemon. It was time to train.

* * *

 **A/N: This is an updated version of the original chapter. I'll be going through each chapter for the next few days whenever I have time off to fix typos and improve the story. Please enjoy!**


	2. The Earth Master

_Chapter Two: The Earth Master_

When nighttime rolled around, Ash lay down on the training field and groaned from exhaustion. He'd spent the last six hours doing nothing but training his Pokemon. Pyro and Pichu both had worked hard to improve and were even more burnt out than he was. Ash never thought that training Pokemon would be so physically demanding of himself, but he knew better now.

They'd only really focused on two things: teaching Pyro Metal Claw and making Pichu stronger. The best way to learn Metal Claw (or so the Pokedex claimed) was by having Pyro scratch at hard boulders repeatedly. Fortunately, there were plenty of those around the training field. Pyro had basically slashed at the stones for hours until his claws began to harden and gained a metallic glint to them. He'd spent the rest of the time making the attack more powerful. It wasn't perfect, but Metal Claw was definitely a viable option in battle now.

Pichu spent the whole time doing nothing but discharging electricity and running around to charge it back up once he ran out. The mouse was furious that he'd lost to Leaf's Spearow, but he put his frustration to good use by training relentlessly. His stamina was definitely low, however. Ash had to bring him into the Pokemon Center three times to feed at the charge station specifically for electric types just to get his power back to full capacity. After all the hard work, Pichu was noticeably stronger. He wouldn't be knocking out Pewter City's rock types anytime soon, but he'd probably make Leaf rethink a direct attack the next time they battled.

For now, Ash and his Pokemon were sprawled out in the dirt on the training field, getting their breath back as the moon started to rise in the sky.

Ash felt a cool breeze blow over his skin and finally sat up. He looked at Pyro and Pichu, sympathetic to their exhaustion. The young trainer pulled out their pokeballs and called to them softly. "Both of you worked really hard. I'm proud of you. Take a break now, okay? I'll get you restored at the Pokemon Center and we can go to sleep afterwards."

His Pokemon just nodded and even Pichu was too tired to complain about being put back into the pokeball. The electric type hated the device with a passion, (apparently suspended animation wasn't for everyone) but Ash noticed that when Pichu was tired, he didn't mind it as much. He figured Pichu liked to be outside the ball when he was full of energy so he could enjoy the fresh air and run around. Sitting in a pokeball when he could be doing something exciting probably felt like a waste of time.

Ash recalled the pair and forced himself to get up, wincing at the soreness in his legs. He trudged his way back to the Pokemon Center, too tired to be rushed.

As he walked over to the front desk, Ash blearily wiped some of the sleepiness from his eyes. Without thinking, he ended up bumping into a person in front of him. He stepped back quickly and made to apologize. "S-sorry. I wasn't looking…"

He trailed off as his gaze went up, staring at the tall man who was now eyeing him from over his shoulder. The man had short brown hair and wore a black suit with dark pants. His eyes were dark as well, with some fierce quality to them that made Ash shiver slightly.

The man turned away after a second and grunted. "Just don't do it again."

Ash nodded and averted his gaze, embarrassed by the event. He waited while the man received six pokeballs from Nurse Joy, who smiled at him somewhat hesitantly.

"They're all ready to go. Just don't send too many injured Pokemon back to me, alright?"

The man smirked. "I make no promises. Anyone willing to challenge me knows the risks. They will have to deal with the consequences of their decision."

Joy sighed. "Well, you can't say I don't try…"

He grunted and turned around, walking past Ash with a muttered. "Excuse me."

Ash watched the man go and then approached Nurse Joy. She smiled at him more brightly than the man before. "Welcome back, Mr. Ketchum. Are you finally finished training for today?"

"Yeah," Ash yawned in exhaustion as he handed her his pokeballs. "I think Pyro and Pichu are too tired to train more anyways. We've almost got Metal Claw down, though…just a little more."

"I think you'll have it completed by the time you get through Viridian Forest," Joy replied. She took the pokeballs and gave them to her Chansey on a tray. "With all the bug catchers running around in there, your Charmander will have many chances to use it in battle."

The boy nodded tiredly and Joy's smile became sympathetic. "Why don't you go get something to eat in the cafeteria? I'll call you on the overhead when your Pokemon are ready."

Ash thanked her and headed off to do just that. He was too tired to focus on anything else and didn't notice the man he'd bumped into earlier watching him curiously from a distance.

* * *

Ash sat down with a plate full of food and dug in. Now that he was getting some food into him, thinking was a bit easier. He decided to read about his current team's attributes while he ate, so he pulled his Pokedex out and selected the overview feature for Pichu. Ash knew the Charmander species information like the back of his hand, but he didn't actually know too much about Pichu's.

From what he could tell, Pichu grew fairly quickly. They were among the few "Baby" Pokemon that wouldn't normally be produced by the parents in the wild. Baby Pokemon like Pichu, Igglybuff, and Azurill rarely occurred outside of captivity unless the conditions were favorable enough to support them. The reason for that wasn't well known, but researchers speculated that it was an adaptation to give the offspring a better chance of survival. Only the strongest and healthiest of their adult forms would produce Baby Pokemon because they were the best of the species.

Scientists had wondered then, why would the strongest adults of a species produce the incredibly rare, but weak Baby Pokemon at all? The reason actually turned out to be, of all things, power. Baby Pokemon seemed to have greater potential overall than those of their species that did not go through the extra evolutionary stage. Moreover, some of them had the capability of learning extremely rare moves _only_ while they were in that stage, though they did have to evolve to utilize said moves' full power.

Pichu was a perfect example of that. If a Pikachu hatched from an egg, it would be stronger than Pichu initially, yes, but it would miss out on the opportunity to learn what was arguably one of the most powerful electric type moves out there: Volt Tackle. The technique was exclusive to the Pichu line and considered the signature of an expertly-trained Pikachu or Raichu. Even in the hands of a Pikachu, Volt Tackle was ridiculously strong. Ash had never actually seen the move before, but it was rumored that Lt. Surge of Vermillion City had a Raichu capable of using the powerful electric attack.

He would find out one day, when he faced Surge in the Vermillion Gym.

The problem was that Pichu would evolve before too long. Baby Pokemon just grew incredibly fast compared to the majority of other species. That was great in the long run, but it gave Ash a very short amount of time to teach Pichu a move that he hadn't ever actually seen before. The good news was that Volt Tackle didn't have to be perfected in that time- Pichu just had to get a grasp on it in his current evolutionary stage. If he evolved into Pikachu before getting even a rough idea of the technique, he would never learn it.

Ash decided that Volt Tackle would take priority for Pichu. From what he could tell by reading about it, the move followed his plan for training Pichu anyways- it required a large amount of power and speed to utilize it. Ash intended to work on the electric mouse's power and speed anyways, so the training would work out nicely. That was the theory, at least.

If he didn't teach Pichu Volt Tackle, he supposed that the move Wild Charge could take its place. But Volt Tackle and Wild Charge were in fact very different, despite their similarities. Both moves required the user to charge a cloak of electricity around their bodies, then recklessly ram into the target. There was a major difference, though- Volt Tackle required a much higher speed to pull off. Wild Charge used sheer power to attack. It didn't have to be fast. Like Take Down, it just needed blunt force to be effective.

But Volt Tackle was far more devastating because it forced the user to charge far denser electricity and rush at blinding speed, essentially turning them into a lightning missile. The resulting impact was far more precise and made the recoil damage greater, but the payoff would be worth it. In addition, the more focused Volt Tackle offered a chance to paralyze the target. Wild Charge was incapable to doing so simply because the electricity was spread too thin. It was essentially just Take Down with electric attributes. Volt Tackle required densely concentrated electricity to be successful, making it a true electric type move.

It was often wondered why Volt Tackle was a move exclusive to the Pichu line. Researchers had pondered this endlessly- there were many other electric types that were even faster than their evolutionarily line, yet Volt Tackle simply could not be taught. There was no documented case of a Jolteon, Manectric, or even the legendary Raikou using the rare technique. The move itself was a mystery.

In fact, Pichu itself was the answer.

While studying Baby Pokemon, researchers discovered that Pichu were born with a completely unique charge organ attached to their main electrical organ. The organ stored a separate source of electrical energy for Pichu to access. However, it would not react if a Pichu used a common electric attack like Thundershock.

The reason became clear when Pichu used Volt Tackle.

Most electric types were so fast to make up for one flaw in their anatomy; they could not launch successful electrical attacks while running at blinding speed. Their main electrical organ would simply switch off once they reached a certain point in order to preserve energy. To make electricity useable in combat, it was necessary for most electric types to be incredibly fast so that they could dodge an opponent's attacks, then stop and shock them quickly before running off again.

Jolteon and Electrode were perfect examples of this- they were among the fastest of Pokemon, able to move with lightning speed and then blast their foes with lightning. Some species, like Electabuzz and Electivire, traded speed for sheer bulk and power, which worked well for them. Those breeds could tank hits and launch surges of electricity without really having to worry about dodging everything like the more fragile speed types. But they too, usually had to stop to launch electric attacks. Wild Charge worked because it only needed raw power. It was within the "speed limit" for electric types.

Pichu's secondary charge organ was _specifically_ for Volt Tackle. The move required the user to use their maximum speed, which would force any other electric type's electrical organ to switch off for energy saving. Pichu's main organ would do the same thing- but the secondary charge organ would then switch on and unleash the steady surge of dense electricity needed for Volt Tackle. It was a unique adaptation only possible because of the Baby Pokemon stage.

Pikachu that hatched from eggs would never be able to access the secondary organ because their primary electrical organs were larger than Pichu's. The size difference would cut off any flow of electricity from the second organ, making it benign. For the secondary organ to be of any use, it had to be accessed in the Pichu stage and connected to the primary organ with the electrical surge produced from using Volt Tackle. Once the electrical stream was initiated, the organ would stay active and grow even after Pichu's evolution.

Ash wanted Pichu to learn Volt Tackle. Not only would it be an incredibly potent weapon once the little mouse evolved, but it would allow Pichu to truly reach his full potential.

He finally finished reading up all he could on Volt Tackle and found that all the research had tired out his brain along with his body. Setting his Pokedex aside, Ash made to take another bite of his dinner. Before he could though, he heard the sound of heavy boots step near.

"Excuse me, young man."

Ash looked up and managed not to gulp at the sight of the same trainer he had bumped into earlier. He was an imposing figure- dark and tall, with a hard look on his face.

"Can I help you, sir?" Ash asked, trying not to stutter.

The man cracked a slight smirk and glanced at the chair across from the boy. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Oh, um, not at all," Ash hurriedly gestured to the seat. "Be my guest."

"Thank you," the man replied. He sat down and settled into the chair, leaning back to relax a bit.

An awkward silence took over the table as the man's dark eyes trained onto Ash and studied him intensely. Ash had no idea how to react and thought about saying something, but the expression on the older trainer's face made him think better of it.

Minutes must have passed before the man finally broke the uncomfortable silence. "I should introduce myself. My name is Giovanni."

Ash's eyes widened. "Giovanni? Wait- the Gym Leader, Giovanni? The ground type Master, Giovanni?"

"The very same," Giovanni seemed amused by the boy's surprise. "You seem to be a new trainer, are you not?"

"Y-yes, I am," Ash replied shakily. "I started my journey the day before yesterday- oh! Sorry, my name's Ash. I'm from Pallet Town."

"Ash. It's a good name," the Gym Leader said thoughtfully. He noticed Ash looked confused and continued. "I would assume you're going to Pewter City to challenge Brock, then?"

The boy nodded. "Yes, sir. But…I think it's going to be difficult for my Pokemon."

"How so?"

"Well, my starter Pokemon was Charmander," Ash began. "He's strong and I'm teaching him Metal Claw to fight Pewter Gym's rock types, but I don't think it'll be enough. I've got a Pichu as well that I'm going to try and teach Volt Tackle to, but he probably won't be able to fight at all against Brock's Pokemon. And there aren't any Pokemon around Viridian or Pewter City that really have a fighting chance against them, either. The bugs in Viridian Forest would get squashed by rock types."

Giovanni smirked. "An accurate assessment, particularly in regards to the bug types. I'm impressed. You're rather mature for your age, aren't you? Thinking things through rather than simply rushing into a battle half-prepared and hoping for the best is a wise decision."

Ash wasn't really sure how to reply to that, but Giovanni kept talking. "You are correct in your analysis- your team clearly stands at a disadvantage against rock types. Even if Charmander perfected Metal Claw at its current stage in training, it would not be enough to conquer Brock. His Geodude would likely fall to your Pokemon, but he uses an Onix as well."

That made Ash gulp. Onix were gargantuan rock types with hard stone armor covering their entire bodies. Even though they had plenty of weaknesses, a well-trained Onix handled by an experienced trainer like a Gym Leader was a threat to be feared.

Giovanni was right. Charmander might be able to beat something as small as a Geodude with Metal Claw, but an Onix was entirely out of the question. He would probably just annoy the behemoth before getting crushed in the rock serpent's stone coils.

Ash deflated once he realized that. "I guess I'll just have to pass up Brock and go to Cerulean City for my first badge, then. Pichu will probably evolve by then and I could catch a water type to beat Brock when I go back to Pewter City."

"That is a reasonable plan," Giovanni agreed. He was quiet for a bit, then spoke again. "Although…"

Before he could say another word, the overhead speakers beeped and Nurse Joy's voice echoed throughout the Pokemon Center. "Ash Ketchum, your Pokemon are waiting for you at the front desk."

Ash stood up and excused himself politely. "Sorry, I have to go get my Pokemon."

"It's quite alright," Giovanni replied. "It is about time I headed back to the gym."

The boy nodded and walked to the front desk to retrieve his healed team. Giovanni quietly followed.

* * *

"Thanks a lot, Nurse Joy," Ash said gratefully as he released Pichu from his confines. He knew the electric mouse would be annoyed with being in the pokeball before too long. Pichu shook himself once he was released and immediately hopped onto his trainer's shoulder, smiling cheerily.

Joy smiled at him. "You're welcome, Ash. They should be good to go for the trek through Viridian Forest, as well. Just make sure you're stocked on Antidotes and Potions. Poison is a constant problem because of all the bug Pokemon."

He nodded. "I'll remember that. By the way, I was wondering-"

Suddenly the lights cut out and Ash's question died in his throat. He and Joy both looked around, confused. The boy frowned. "A power outage?"

"That doesn't make sense," Joy replied, pointing towards the glass doors of the Pokemon Center. "The lights for the rest of the city are still active. But our generator wouldn't just cut like this unless someone turned it off…"

The Nurse suddenly paled and whipped around towards the back of the building, where the Pokemon storage was. "It's those thieves again! They cut the power to get past the electronic lock!"

Before Ash could react, the glass doors at the front shattered. He spun around with wide eyes to find three figures standing in the rubble. It was a man, a woman, and a small, feline Pokemon he recognized as a Meowth. The two people wore white uniforms with a large red "R" on the front of their shirts. Ash realized it was the symbol for Team Rocket.

Joy's eyes narrowed. "You three are awfully bold breaking in here while I'm still on duty!"

"Oh, please," the woman drawled. "You and that pink egg are about as threatening as an angry Caterpie. You're taught to heal, not fight."

Her male partner smirked. "Now, hand over the Pokemon in the storage room and no one has to get hurt. Little boy, you will be handing yours over as well. It wouldn't do for you to interfere with our work."

Ash glared at them furiously. "I refuse."

"Huh, the twerp's got some backbone," the Meowth sneered. "I think he needs a lesson in pain."

Normally, Ash would have been utterly surprised that a Pokemon had spoken like a human, but he had more important things on his mind. He grabbed Pyro's pokeball and released the fire type, then glanced at Pichu. "Get in there, buddy. We'll fight them off."

Pichu leapt down from his shoulder and landed beside Pyro, his cheeks sparking. Pyro glared at the thieves and swished his burning tail aggressively as a hiss built up in his throat.

"Oh? They aren't rare, but those are uncommon Pokemon," the man mused. "Now we'll definitely have to take them. Shall we?"

The woman nodded and released an average Ekans. The serpent hissed and eyed its prey with pale yellow orbs. It didn't look evil, but it was obviously ready to fight. The Koffing which was sent out beside it looked the same way.

Ash looked at his opponents and ran everything he knew about them through his head. Unfortunately, it wasn't much. Ekans and Koffing were both poison types. Alone, they weren't especially powerful, but in numbers they could be dangerous. Ekans was fast and used bites in order to attack. Koffing could smash its tough body into foes and expelled a stinking toxic gas. It also had the ability to use Selfdestruct, but only once it was well trained. Ash didn't think this Koffing looked strong enough for that, but he didn't really want to risk that either.

He muttered lowly to Pyro and Pichu. "Keep your distance and feel them out with Ember and Thundershock. Pyro, you're the attacking force here. If they get close, hit them with Scratch or Metal Claw. Pichu, run around them and keep jolting those two. Try and paralyze them."

His Pokemon nodded and tensed as Ekans and Koffing began to approach. The woman, who apparently was the leader of the group, shouted at Ash. "Last chance, kid! Obey your elders like a good little boy and hand over your Pokemon, or you will regret it!"

Ignoring her, Ash initiated the fight. "Attack!"

Pyro immediately spat flames at Ekans while Pichu unleashed an electrical shock. The snake quickly slithered away and avoided its opponents moves, hissing angrily. Koffing just tanked the shock, but winced. Ash grinned when it showed visible pain. Training with Pichu all afternoon had paid off.

Ekans darted towards Pyro with its mouth agape. The Charmander spat flames until the last second, then leapt out of the way and slashed at the poison type with Metal Claw. He scored a hit on the snake's scales, causing it to wriggle away quickly. Ekans retreated and shifted into a coil, hissing while Pyro growled at it.

Pichu was running circles around Koffing as he dodged its Tackle attacks, stopping now and then to shoot off a Thundershock. The mouse wrinkled his nose in disgust whenever Koffing got too close- those fumes obviously smelled horrendous. But Koffing couldn't hit the faster and more agile electric type, so it was definitely on the losing side of the battle. Apparently, the Rockets agreed.

"The mouse is annoying," snarled the woman. "Ekans, help Koffing squash that rat!"

The snake spun towards the fighting pair and made to spring at Pichu, but Ash wasn't having it. "Pyro, jump onto Ekans and pin its head down!"

Ekans hissed furiously as the Charmander leapt onto the back of its scaly neck and smacked it against the ground. Pyro gripped the snake firmly by using Metal Claw to dig into its scales. It kept him from sliding off and out of range from Ekans' furious bites. The woman thief screamed furiously at her Pokemon, but Pyro was far too stubborn to shake off. Meanwhile, Pichu jolted Koffing again with Thundershock, this time slowing it down a bit as paralysis began to take hold.

Ash grinned. He had them on the ropes. But his smile faded a moment later when he realized something.

Meowth was missing.

He glanced around frantically to locate the cat and found it trying to sneak past the fighting Pokemon. Ash narrowed his eyes at the mocking glee Meowth exuded. Obviously, the thieving cat thought it was clever by trying to steal while he was preoccupied fighting. That annoyed Ash more than he was entirely happy about, so he watched the battle a second longer to ensure his Pokemon were okay for the moment before taking the matter of Meowth into his own hands.

The cat was watching the fight while it snuck around the edge of the center and never saw Ash coming until it turned around at just the right time.

Meowth yowled when a well-aimed kick from Ash punted it clean across the room and right into the female Rocket's face. The cat was so shocked that it'd been caught and kicked that it forgot to sheathe its claws, which had come out as a reflex of being attacked. Its partner shrieked as Meowth's own claws dug into her skin.

The woman scrambled to get the feline off of her and only made matters worse by startling Meowth even further. Her male partner just watched, dumbfounded by what was happening. Even their Pokemon stopped to just stare in utter bewilderment. The pause gave Pyro and Pichu a chance to catch their breath and get ready for the next stage of the fight.

Ash sniggered as the woman finally pulled Meowth off of her and stared at the boy. Her face was all scratched up, red and puffy and her shocked expression was just ridiculously funny. The woman's eyes suddenly became furious.

"You little _shit!_ We'll see if you're smirking when I get my claws on your face!"

Ekans and Koffing prepared themselves to attack and Ash got ready to react and give his team orders. But just as the poison types lunged, a flash of white light burst through the dark room.

Ash yelped as a tremor went through the ground and he scrambled to keep his balance. When he looked up to see what had caused it, any and all thoughts of battle left his head.

The biggest Pokemon he'd ever seen was standing in the middle of the room, pinning the now unconscious Ekans and Koffing down with stone arms as thick as tree trunks. Two large drills rested on its head and the entirety of its body was covered in thick red plates of armor. A long tail with a heavy club on the end was responsible for the tremor, as there were cracks along the floor from where it had smacked the ground.

Ash had no idea what it was, but he was more concerned about where it had come from. He spun towards Nurse Joy, who had her hands over her mouth to cover up her shock. They got their answer when a deep voice cut the stunned silence.

"That's quite enough of that."

Giovanni stepped out from the shadows with a stern expression. He stared at the Rockets and growled menacingly. _"Out."_

That one word was plenty to get the message across. The Rockets quickly recalled their unconscious Pokemon and ran so fast out of the building that Ash thought even an Arcanine would have trouble catching them. They were certainly quick on their feet, he'd give them that.

Giovanni's massive Pokemon let out a rumbling sound which made Ash jump as it turned to look at its trainer. The Gym Leader nodded to the behemoth. "Good work, Rhyperior."

Rhyperior snorted and turned to eye Ash and his comparatively tiny Pokemon. Pyro and Pichu did their best not to cringe under the stone giant's crimson eyes, but it made its judgement quickly and proceeded to simply ignore them.

Nurse Joy was still pale, though she managed to find her voice. "M-Mr. Giovanni, I didn't know you were still here…"

"I was actually just leaving when the power went out," he grunted. "The League ordered me to deal with those thieves personally if I ever encountered them. Though I must say, I'm fairly certain given how weak they were that Ash here could have run them off without my help. I only stepped in to settle the matter slightly faster."

Joy nodded. "Thank you very much for protecting the Pokemon Center. And you as well, Ash. Your quick thinking probably just saved dozens of Pokemon."

"We didn't do much. We pretty much just kept them busy until Rhyperior curb-stomped them," Ash replied, still staring at the behemoth with wide eyes. The huge Pokemon glanced at him momentarily when he mentioned its name, but it was utterly impassive. It was actually uncomfortable to see such a creature with little to no emotion like that. Rhyperior just looked bored.

Giovanni noted the exchange and looked at Ash pointedly. "You don't give yourself enough credit. Even though you've only trained your Pokemon for a few days, they reacted well to this battle. I was impressed. They got out of the fight without so much as a scratch."

He smirked then. "And you showed plenty of willingness to jump into the fight yourself. I can't say I've ever seen anyone reckless enough to try and kick an enemy Pokemon across the room."

Heat surged through Ash and he glanced at the floor. "Pyro and Pichu were busy fighting, so…"

"It was quick thinking and it worked. Just don't make a habit of it," Giovanni told him. The Gym Leader then looked at Joy. "I believe calling the police would be appropriate, although I'm certain the commotion will bring them here in a matter of minutes. I doubt the thieves will return. However, I shall remain here until the officers arrive."

"Thank you. Excuse me, I need to go turn on the backup generator," she replied and quickly strode off. Chansey, who had been hiding behind the desk during the event, scurried after her.

Ash found himself once again drawn to the massive form of Rhyperior. The nine-foot tall stone beast was now lazily spinning its drills. Giovanni saw Ash's interest and commented on it. "You seem rather impressed by Rhyperior."

"Yes, sir," the boy answered. "I've heard of them before and Professor Oak let us see a Rhydon once, but I've never gotten to see a Rhyperior in person. It's…it's huge."

"He's actually a fair bit bigger than the average Rhyperior," Giovanni admitted. "Most of the breed top out at seven feet tall. He's nearly ten. Then again, I had that specific trait bred into him. Rhyperior really have no need for speed of any kind as long as they have good armor and high attack."

"I see," Ash murmured. Rhyperior spun his drill again and growled lightly.

Giovanni recalled the huge Pokemon and put the pokeball away. "He prefers to stay in suspended animation outside of combat and training."

Ash nodded in understanding. Professor Oak had a few Pokemon like that.

Several minutes later, the police arrived and took over the situation. Thankfully, power was quickly restored to the Pokemon Center. Ash felt even more exhausted after the raid by Team Rocket and felt his eyes closing against his will.

Giovanni could tell the boy was about to crash and grunted. "Get to your room, Ash. Get some sleep. Come by my gym tomorrow morning."

Ash was too tired to ask why and simply turned away with a mumbled, "goodnight." He led Pyro and Pichu to his room in the Pokemon Center and fell asleep the second he hit the bed.

* * *

The next morning, Ash found himself in front of the Viridian City Gym. He stared at the imposing building and swallowed. Why did Giovanni want to see him again? Hesitantly, he knocked on the huge doors and they opened automatically. Ash walked inside and relaxed a bit once he saw Giovanni standing alone in the middle of the large room that took up most of the gym.

Giovanni looked completely unaffected by the events of the night before as he looked the younger trainer over. "Good morning, Ash. I expect you're wondering why I wanted you here."

"Yes, sir," Ash replied.

"Good. The reason I requested your presence was to engage you in a battle."

Ash froze. "Wait, what?"

Giovanni smirked. "Relax, boy. I'm not talking about an actual gym battle. We won't really be fighting. It'll be more of a test than anything for you. Call out your Charmander."

Still uncertain what to make of the situation, Ash set Pyro loose while Pichu leapt down from his shoulder to watch. The two little Pokemon gazed up at the Gym Leader curiously, recognizing him from the night before. Giovanni inspected them with measuring eyes and pulled out a pokeball of his own.

"Most of my Pokemon don't play well with others, particularly Rhyperior or Nidoking. But this one is the most mellow of my main team," Giovanni explained as he tapped the release and unleashed the Pokemon from its confines.

Ash's eyes widened at the large Nidoqueen that appeared. She was a lot smaller than Rhyperior's massive frame, but held an air of royalty and power that Rhyperior simply didn't possess. Nidoqueen was slightly taller than Giovanni and looked at Ash and his Pokemon curiously. He felt more relaxed around her than he had with Rhyperior. She seemed more prone to showing her emotions. That made it easier for him to tell what she was thinking.

"Nidoqueen is going to humor you," Giovanni explained, crossing his arms. "None of your attacks now will scratch her, but I'd like to see you give your best effort. Understand this- power can only get you so far. Without knowledge and control, it is meaningless. Now, you may begin whenever you're ready. Nidoqueen will wait for you."

Ash didn't have the foggiest idea where to begin. Pyro's Metal Claw wouldn't pierce her thick armor at its current level and his Ember attack _might_ warm her up a bit. He thought as quickly as he could before deciding to take a risk. "Pyro, Dragon Dance!"

Pyro squeezed his eyes shut and shivered, focusing energy in the core of his body. It took nearly twenty seconds for it to show any kind of effect, however, and obviously wouldn't be useful in any real battle Pyro participated in at this stage. Ash had to risk it, though- without some kind of boost to Pyro's attack, he wouldn't be able to even make Nidoqueen twitch.

Giovanni nodded approvingly. "A good start, though you obviously lack training for such a technique. What will you do next?"

Ash knew exactly what he was going to do. "Metal Claw, back to back!"

Pyro rushed Nidoqueen, slightly faster thanks to the weak Dragon Dance, and began to slash at her legs. He darted around and scratched with his metallic claws wherever he could touch the much larger Pokemon. At one point, Pyro even used Nidoqueen's tail as a platform to jump high and scratch at her face, though she just snorted in amusement.

The Charmander was beginning to look incredibly frustrated, but Ash called out to him. "Keep at it, Pyro! Just keep using Metal Claw!"

Giovanni's eyes narrowed. "You may consider a different strategy. Only using one move isn't going to increase your chances."

"Metal Claw will," Ash replied, surprising the Gym Leader. He saw a glimmer of light as the glow of Metal Claw increased and grinned. "It's attacks can get stronger the more we strike."

The Gym Leader's eyes flashed with understanding. "I see…you're aiming for Metal Claw's attack boosting properties to inflict extra damage. The Dragon Dance was just for a mild speed boost and…not bad. It's a decent plan. However…"

Giovanni's smirk returned. "How will you deal with Nidoqueen once she starts to move?"

At his cue, the matriarch let out a bellow and a shockwave blew Pyro away. Ash's partner hit the ground with a yelp and scrabbled back to his feet. Nidoqueen took a step forward and swept her tail towards the Charmander, but Pyro dodged by jumping up and clinging to the thick appendage.

"Ember!" Ash shouted.

Pyro growled and spat little flames over Nidoqueen's back, but she just huffed in annoyance and made a swift turn. Her smaller opponent was hurled from her spine and hit the ground roughly. Despite the tough landing, Pyro got back up and stubbornly hissed at his behemoth foe.

Nidoqueen made a rumble that caused the ground at her feet to quake. Pyro almost lost his footing and staggered back from her, looking hesitant for the first time since the fight began. The matriarch lifted her chin and looked down on the tiny lizard, a silent command in her stern eyes that demanded respect.

Pyro was stubborn, but he wasn't stupid. He quieted his growl and bowed his head. Nidoqueen snorted in what might have been approval.

Ash blinked. He didn't understand what had just happened.

Giovanni broke the silence. "You have talent, but it's obvious you have a lot to learn. The wise decision would have been to recall Charmander the moment Nidoqueen began to move. Your Pokemon realized that before you did."

He opened his mouth to reply, then closed it. Giovanni made a good point. Nidoqueen had played possum for a while so that Pyro could attack, but the second she got into the fight it was over. There was just no way for him to inflict any kind of damage on the massive poison/ground type.

"A strong, trained Pokemon can take a good deal more punishment than one so young as your Charmander or Pichu," the Gym Leader continued. "But as they are now, it would be best not to let them take inordinate amounts of damage from far stronger adversaries. Serious injuries could result in problems later when they evolve. Do not be foolish enough to risk that."

Giovanni recalled Nidoqueen and looked at the boy. "You must not fight so rigidly, either. Against a foe with such a vast difference in experience, no manner of head-on attack is going to have an effect. Think outside the confines of what seems to be possible and impossible. Improvise. But do not act stupidly."

He took out a new pokeball and held it out. "Here. Take this."

Ash stared at the ball and carefully took it from Giovanni. He looked it over curiously. "What's in it?"

"A Sandile," Giovanni informed him. "A ground type. Obviously, that's a specialty of mine. You could make greater use of it than I. My team already has plenty of power. This one requires time to train it that I simply do not have. If you work hard with it, I think it could be of use in your battle against Brock at Pewter City."

"You're just giving it to me?" Ash asked hesitantly. "I've never even heard of Sandile before. Is it rare?"

"In Kanto? Ridiculously so," Giovanni chuckled. "But it's rather common in the deserts of the Unova region. A well trained Sandile and its evolved forms are useful assets for any trainer. They typically are not easy to work with. I suggest you research it a fair bit before attempting to train it. Even so, that Sandile should be more mellow than the rest of its species."

"Why's that?"

"The breeder whom I received it from specializes in ground types. He managed to breed out most of the uncontrollable aggression that is typical of the Sandile line."

The words "uncontrollable aggression" made Ash certain this was going to take a lot of research and hard work. He wouldn't open that pokeball until he felt like he could handle Sandile safely. Even if it was mostly mellow compared to its species, that did not make it easy to work with or unaggressive in his book. Ash didn't even have the foggiest idea what a Sandile looked like.

Still, he was grateful for it and wasn't about to turn it down.

"Thank you very much, sir," Ash dipped his head politely.

Giovanni nodded back. "You may thank me when that Sandile proves to be useful. Now, you'd best get going. There's plenty of daylight left for trekking through Viridian Forest and I have a meeting in ten minutes. Farewell, Mr. Ketchum."

Ash took his leave quickly, pocketing Sandile's pokeball and recalling Pyro. Pichu climbed back onto his shoulder and the boy left the Viridian Gym without another word.

The Gym Leader's eyes bored into his back right until the door closed behind him.

* * *

He pulled out his Pokedex again before leaving for the Viridian Forest. It was the last obstacle before Pewter City and frankly his only opportunity to give Pyro, Pichu and his newly acquired Sandile experience in battle. If Ash was going to use the ground type in his gym battle against Brock, he had to train with it to get an idea of its capabilities. Holding up Sandile's pokeball to the Pokedex, he let the scan feature activate and waited patiently as the computer retrieved and recited the data to him.

 _Sandile, the Desert Croc Pokemon. It moves along the desert just below the surface of the sand, except for its nose and eyes. A dark membrane shields its eyes from the sun. Female Sandile bask together in sunlight to warm up their bodies every morning. Male Sandile fight each other by inflicting vicious bites to show their dominance. Trainers must exercise caution when handling this Pokemon._

 _This Sandile is male and knows the moves: Bite, Dig, Sand Tomb, Leer, Fire Fang, and Thunder Fang. Its ability is Moxie, which boosts Sandile's attack power in battle every time it defeats an opponent. Warning: Sandile with this ability are highly volatile and should only be handled by expert trainers._

Ash groaned. Sandile literally had every bad trait its species was known for- it was male, for one. Apparently, that meant he was far more aggressive than the supposedly more mellow females. He also had the Moxie ability that, together with his gender, actually warranted a legitimate warning on the Pokedex. Ash would not be forgetting that anytime soon.

He also didn't realize until now that Sandile was a dark type in addition to being a ground type. That only made matters worse. Dark types usually had highly aggressive tendencies or negative dispositions compared to other Pokemon. There was just something about them that didn't mesh well with others. Of course, not all dark types were like that, and there were a fair few (Umbreon, for example) that did quite well around people and other Pokemon. It seemed to just be a matter of which species to watch out for.

Ash had no doubt Sandile and its evolutionary line were high up on that list. If they were so violent with members of their own kind, he could only imagine what they were like around people or other Pokemon.

Still, if he didn't meet Sandile, Ash would feel as though he was being unfair towards him. So just before they set out for the forest, Ash set Pyro loose and let Pichu hop off his shoulder. He crouched in front of them and fondly scratched the pair on their heads before talking.

"Listen, I want to try and get along with the Sandile Giovanni gave me, okay? But I don't know if he'll be aggressive or not. So I need you two with me, just in case he gets snappy. Don't attack him when he appears and do your best to look friendly. If he attacks, stay away from his jaws- that will really hurt."

His two friends nodded, so Ash pulled out Sandile's pokeball. He took a deep breath and tapped the release, unleashing its contents.

The Pokemon that materialized following the white flash of light was the color of sand, with a few thick, black stripes along its top jaw, midsection, and tail. Its eyes were jet black and gleamed beneath the dark visor that had evolved to protect Sandile's eyes from the harsh desert sun. The body length from snout to tail was about three and a half feet long and was supported on four short, stubby legs. For the most part, the small Pokemon didn't look too threatening.

That is, until Sandile opened his jaws in a yawn, gaping nearly ninety degrees to flash countless white fangs. Ash blinked when he realized that Sandile's head and mouth took up nearly a third of his total body size. That was just ridiculous.

Sandile peered up at him with a curious expression. Ash decided to introduce himself. "Hey, Sandile. Are you feeling good?"

The croc thought about that for a moment before shrugging. He looked over Pyro and Pichu, then back to Ash, who crouched down to avoid looking like a threat.

"My name is Ash. This is Pyro, and that's Pichu," he gestured to each of his Pokemon in turn. Pyro waved his stubby arm and Pichu squeaked politely. Ash went on. "Listen, I'd really like you to travel with me. I'm on a journey with Pyro and Pichu to become the greatest Pokemon Master in the world. If I'm going to do that, I'll need a team of the best Pokemon out there working with me. If you decide to travel with us, I promise I'll train you into the strongest Krookodile that there is."

Sandile's eyes gleamed at the prospect. Ash definitely had his attention now. He was just glad he remembered the name of Sandile's final evolution from his brief glance at it in the Pokedex. Ash wanted to get across to Sandile that he knew what he was doing, so he could better earn the ground type's friendship and respect.

"What do you think, Sandile?" He asked. "Would you like to come with us?"

The ground type considered it a moment longer and finally answered with a nod. Ash smiled at him. This was easier than he'd thought it would be. Maybe Sandile really was as mellow as Giovanni claimed him to be.

"Would you like a nickname? Pyro has one. Pichu didn't want one, but it's up to you."

Sandile seemed to ponder that for a bit before shivering his jaws to emit a crooning sound. Ash took that as a yes and thought about it. He would admit he'd had trouble thinking of names for Sandile off the top of his head, so had cheated slightly by looking up acceptable nicknames for crocodile-like Pokemon. Only one had really stood out to him, but would Sandile like it?

"How about Sobek?"

Sandile bared his many sharp teeth in a fierce smile. Ash grinned. It seemed as though Sandile agreed it was a good name. Sobek was the name of a crocodile god from ancient times. Ash couldn't think of anything more appropriate for the Pokemon that he hoped would grow to become the most powerful of his species.

Sobek it was.

Ash didn't get a chance to think any further as the newly dubbed Sobek stepped forward on his short, stubby legs and brushed the tip of his nose against the boy's leg. He froze, uncertain as to what the ground type was trying to do. The Sandile's throat vibrated again and the resulting sound was almost…relaxing.

Hesitantly, Ash reached up and carefully set his hand against Sobek's head, feeling the tough, sandy scales under his fingers. Sobek's only reaction was to (for lack of a better word) purr even more.

He frowned briefly. The Pokedex was completely inaccurate for this particular specimen of Sandile, it seemed. Apparently, Giovanni hadn't been kidding when his contact had bred all of the uncontrollable aggressiveness out of Sobek. This Pokemon didn't have even a hint of the hyper-aggression he had been warned about.

His frown deepened. Ash wasn't sure if that was healthy or not. Sure, he'd much rather have a calm Pokemon than one with uncontrollable rage, but this was pushing it given the reputation of the Sandile line. He made a mental note to ask Professor Oak about Sobek at some point.

Ash stroked Sobek's scales again and turned his frown upside down. He and Sobek were getting along, and that was the best he could ask for right now. "Listen Sobek, I'm going to recall you now. We're about to go through a big forest. There will probably be a lot of trainers in there, so I'll probably call on you at some point to battle. Is that okay?"

Sobek grinned toothily again and nodded. Ash felt more relaxed seeing the Sandile's eagerness to fight- maybe his aggression had only been curbed outside of combat. If Sobek had even a touch of his breed's typical fury, the place to see it would be in a battle.

"Alright. I'll let you out as soon as I can, Sobek. Rest up."

Ash recalled the Sandile and let out a sigh of relief. That had gone well. Pyro and Pichu both made small noises to get his attention and he was pleased to see they both looked happy.

"Well, you guys know the plan. Hop on, Pichu. We've got a forest to get through."

His Pokemon chirped and squeaked agreement. Ash grinned, recalling Pyro as Pichu hopped onto his shoulder, then started walking towards the vast green curtain that was Viridian Forest.

* * *

Their first day of trekking through Viridian Forest saw a lot of action. Ash must have battled a dozen trainer, all of them bug catchers. Each and every one of them was using freshly caught bug types from the surrounding woods, except for a couple that seemed to actually train the bugs they captured.

Pyro, Pichu, and Sobek all saw a good bit of action. Pyro could torch the bug types with ease, but his flames were getting stronger and stronger every time he won a battle. It was at the point where lesser bug types like Caterpie and Weedle would get knocked out by a single Ember. Even the chrysalis stages Metapod and Kakuna got wiped out quickly before long. The only Pokemon he'd battled thus far that had given him even a hint of trouble was a Butterfree, and even then Pyro had won by shooting the bug out of the sky with Ember. His tail flame was starting to get hotter and Ash could see a faint trace of red in his scales, signaling that Pyro was getting close to evolving.

Pichu had made a great amount of progress as well. Ash only used him to battle the weaker bugs, (he still wasn't strong enough to take on something like a Butterfree or Beedrill) but took the opportunity to try and get Pichu started on Volt Tackle. The easiest way to start was by having Pichu just Tackle his opponents while using Thundershock. It was an effective combination anyway, but hopefully it would start to channel electricity into his secondary charge organ that was necessary to learn Volt Tackle.

But Sobek saw the most use, especially after Ash battled with him the first time. In battle, Sobek wasn't especially fast, but his biting attacks one-shotted basically everything he met. He didn't waste the croc's time against Caterpie and Weedle (though he was mostly afraid Sobek might fatally injure them) and tested his power against Metapod and Kakuna instead. Their shells could stand up to the bites, though they fainted immediately after taking one or two of the attacks. Those battles weren't where Sobek truly stood out.

No, where Sobek had really impressed Ash was when he snagged an enemy Beedrill out of the air with Fire Fang and knocked it out by shaking it ruthlessly. The ground type had finished off the strongest Pokemon they had encountered in the forest thus far within a grand total of ten seconds. Ash could see the aggression he had been warned about when Sobek fought, but he mellowed quickly when he wasn't fighting. He felt much better about the Sandile's health now that he'd seen the sheer fury Sobek tapped into when he was in combat.

By the time the sun began to set, Ash had covered only about a third of the forest. He had been slowed down by all the battles, but was in no mood to complain. On the contrary, he couldn't stop smiling. His Pokemon had gotten a good deal stronger by constantly fighting the bug catchers. They'd also been fortunate enough to avoid getting poisoned.

Ash set his team loose once he found a decent spot to make camp for the night. Pyro smiled happily upon seeing him again, though Sobek blinked in confusion when he found there wasn't a fight to be had.

"We're about to sleep for the night," Ash explained to the croc. Sobek blinked and nodded in understanding, so he pressed on. "I usually set everyone loose at night so that you can enjoy the fresh air. Would you like that, or would you prefer staying in your pokeball?"

Sobek snorted and immediately found a patch of ground to curl up in. The ground type stayed in a position where he could keep an eye on Ash and the others, but he seemed content to close his eyes and fall asleep quickly. Ash smiled at his newest partner fondly.

He got his sleeping bag out and made himself comfortable. Once Ash was settled, Pichu crawled onto his stomach as usual and Pyro settled beside him, careful to keep his tail flame away from anything flammable.

Ash slipped into a peaceful slumber before long, tired out by the day's events and all they had accomplished.

* * *

His awakening was not so pleasant.

Ash felt something cold touch his throat and frowned as the sensation woke him up. He blinked and froze immediately. Above him was a figure clad in strange armor, holding a katana to his neck. Pyro, Pichu, and Sobek were all still asleep.

"Are you from Pallet Town?" The intruder asked quietly.

Ash kept his eyes on the sword at his throat and nodded shortly, scarcely remembering to breathe. The figure's eyes flashed and he raised his voice. "I was defeated by a trainer from Pallet Town once! Now face me in battle so I may redeem myse- AGH!"

His scream was caused by a rush of sand scales and a furious hiss. Sobek had woken because of the intruder's raised voice and immediately attacked when he saw that his trainer was in danger. The Sandile's jaws snapped shut on the sword, yanking it away from Ash and then ripping it from the intruder's hands. Sobek glared furiously at the intruder with the sword still in his jaws. His jaws clenched tightly and the blade snapped like a twig.

The commotion brought Pyro and Pichu out of their sleep and they immediately got between Ash and the intruder. Pyro and Sobek were hissing aggressively and Pichu's cheeks sparked with electricity. Ash quickly got up to call them off before they could seriously hurt the guy.

"Hey, hey, it's alright, guys! Settle down! He just wants to have a battle!"

They didn't really settle down, but his Pokemon didn't attack, either. Ash figured they would control themselves for now and glared at the intruder, who he realized now was a boy barely taller than himself.

"What's wrong with your Pokemon?!" The kid exclaimed furiously. "It just up and attacked me out of the blue! It even broke my precious katana!"

"What's wrong with my _Pokemon?_ What's wrong with _you?!"_ Ash snapped back. "What kind of idiot wakes up a guy with a sword at his throat?! Did you think my Pokemon wouldn't try to defend me when they saw you doing that?! You're lucky Sobek didn't take your hand off!"

The kid reddened with anger and grabbed a pokeball. "I am Samurai. I challenge you and that little monster of yours to battle. My Pokemon and I shall regain our honor!"

"Pyro, Pichu, step back," Ash ordered, still furious. "Sobek, get ready. We're going to crush whatever bug he's got and get out of here."

Sobek hissed agreement. After Pyro and Pichu moved back to stand beside Ash, Samurai walked off a few paces and then spun around to face him. He threw the pokeball and yelled. "Pinsir, to battle!"

Ash blinked in surprise when the Stag Beetle Pokemon appeared. He hadn't expected to see a Pinsir in this forest, even if the only trainers here used bug types. Pinsir were rare and notoriously aggressive. Ash kind of doubted the kid was a skilled trainer, but the sight of Pinsir gave him pause.

"Watch out for those claws on its head," Ash muttered to Sobek. "If it gets too close, try to bite one and smack it around."

The Sandile's hiss rose in pitch. Evidently, he was more than ready to beat the ever living snot out of this bug. He certainly wasn't fazed by it, even if Ash was being more cautious.

Samurai struck first. "Pinsir, attack! Use Vicegrip!"

Pincer menacingly clicked its pincers together and began to stalk towards Sobek. It was fairly slow, so Ash had plenty of time to respond.

"Dig. Trap it with Sand Tomb," he ordered.

Sobek quickly dug underground. That was something Ash had noticed about the Sandile after all the battles they'd fought yesterday. Sobek could practically swim through the earth, but on the surface he wasn't especially fast except in short bursts. Underground was where he was at home, and his strikes were far quicker when they came from below an enemy's feet.

Pincer paused after seeing its prey disappear and looked around dumbly. Samurai yelled at Ash. "Hey! That's an underhanded tactic! You have no honor!"

"It's completely fair and I'm pretty sure Pinsir can learn Dig too," Ash retorted. "Maybe you should train your Pokemon better."

Samurai looked furious, but didn't get another word in as Pinsir suddenly sunk into the ground at its feet. It clicked its claws frantically and struggled to escape Sand Tomb.

Ash liked that particular combination. Sobek would use Dig to get beneath an enemy, homing in on the vibrations they produced through his sensitive crocodilian nose, then used Sand Tomb to weaken the earth they stood on and trap them. The move could immobilize pretty much anything that didn't fly and the heavier the target, the more effective it was. It basically turned the ground their foes stood on into quicksand.

He had been thinking about just shortening the combo's name to Ant Lion, after a desert bug that trapped its prey in an identical manner. It seemed appropriate, although there was one more step before the move was actually complete in his eyes.

With Pinsir trapped in the sand, Ash ordered Sobek to complete the process Ant Lions used to catch their prey. "Bite!"

Pinsir made a shrieking sound as Sobek erupt from the quicksand around it and snapped his fangs into the bug's midsection. The Sandile's powerful jaw muscles punched right through the armored carapace.

"No! Pinsir, shake it off! Quickly!" Samurai commanded frantically.

Ash was impressed that Pinsir still had fight in it. The bug was obviously at a low level and had probably only hatched a short while ago. Looking at it, it was a fair bit smaller than the description of Pinsir in the Pokedex. Even so, Pinsir were tough to knock out. Ash decided a follow up move was necessary.

"Fire Fang."

Sobek's jaws flickered with hot embers as he added fire type elements to his assault. It was an egg move that Sobek still had to work on a lot- he couldn't generate actual fire yet, but the heat and small amount of embers that he could produce would do the job in this instance.

Sure enough, Pinsir tried to wriggle away from the heat furiously, but collapsed after just a few seconds. Samurai seemed utterly beside himself from the loss and recalled his Pokemon with a large frown.

"That was a dirty trick. Using super-effective moves is not an honorable way to battle!"

Ash shrugged. Samurai could keep his opinions, but fighting the way he had was strategic. He still had a long way to go in Viridian Forest and didn't want to risk Sobek getting injured by a potentially dangerous foe. Besides, the warrior-wannabe annoyed him.

Sobek looked at Ash now that the battle was over. Ash smiled and nodded. "Good work, Sobek. That was excellent."

His Pokemon grinned toothily, but turned back to glare at Samurai a moment later. The kid hadn't left yet.

Samurai glared at them. "I shall train harder, and if you should ever return to my forest again, I shall defeat you!"

Ash smirked. "I'm looking forward to it."

The kid practically growled at him and then stomped away into the trees, not even bothering to pick up the sword Sobek had destroyed. With their opponent gone, Ash's Pokemon relaxed.

"Alright guys," Ash turned back to their camp and went to grab the cans of Pokemon food in his bag. "Who wants breakfast?"

* * *

Ash and his team ended up spending two more days in Viridian Forest, battling many more opponents and the occasional wild Pokemon. They got some serious training and combat experience in that would no doubt be useful when it was time to face Brock in Pewter City.

Pyro had finally perfected Metal Claw. There weren't many rocks in Viridian Forest, but the armored bug types they fought helped a lot, not to mention that Ash had the Charmander slashing at thick trees whenever they stopped to make camp. He had also tried working on Dragon Dance, though it was far from complete. Pyro still took about twenty seconds to actually build up enough dragon type energy for the boost to take effect. It would probably get easier when he evolved.

Pichu got a good bit stronger as well while in the forest. Right towards the end, Ash began to let the mouse battle against some of the stronger bugs they met. He was pleased when Pichu managed to take out a Venonat that belonged to one of the more skilled trainers. Pichu's electric attacks became a lot more formidable as well. Ash was still having him work on using Thundershock and Tackle in tandem, hoping that it would be enough for Pichu to learn Volt Tackle before he evolved.

Sobek had basically mastered the Ant Lion combo Ash had him working on. It was really easy for the Sandile to use and quite effective against most foes. He was glad Sobek had gotten used to battling with him while in the Viridian Forest, because Ash intended for the ground type to be his trump card against Brock. Sobek was Ash's only chance at defeating the Onix Giovanni had told him about. If he couldn't do it, then Ash would have no choice but to go to Cerulean City first and try to capture a water type. It was going to be a trial by fire, but Ash had full confidence in his team.

The boy finally stepped out of the Viridian Forest tree line and grinned. He could see Pewter City just a few miles away. The sun was still out, but Ash figured he would spend the rest of the day training once he actually made it to Pewter- he would challenge Brock tomorrow.

On his shoulder, Pichu nudged him to get moving. Ash smiled at the mouse and scratched his furry ears before turning towards Pewter and walking down the trail that would take them to their first gym battle.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, here's the updated version of chapter two, free of typos (as far as I can tell) and just a little cleaner than the original chapter. Review responses are going to remain the same- I'll respond to about four or five reviews per chapter and post them here for everyone to see. I think that's all the important stuff for now? I'll correct myself later if I'm wrong. Here are the review responses for chapter one!**

 **espeon44: Can Ash get an Eevee?**

 **-That's something you'll have to wait for to find out ;)**

 **xXSakura: Very good beginning! Well developed characters and the story is not rushed, good job. Please update soon!**

 **-Thank you very much! I appreciate the kind words and it seems you got your wish for an update!**

 **LioPyro7890: Like the prologue, can't wait for more :)**

 **-It's not really a prologue, but thank you. There will be lots more.**

 **DarkPirateKing69 :Hmm, i'm gonna stick around and see how things develop from here. While i'm not the biggest fan of convenient egg moves, i don't have anything to complain about really. Nicknames outside of games always felt kinda silly to me for some reason, but if author goes out of his/her way to develop the Pokemon into actual characters, it's all cool. otherwise they just come out as cool pets more than anything else. Can't explain that one properly to be honest, but that's just how my brain works. See you in the next chapter.**

 **-I hope you stick around for a good while longer! I get that the egg moves might seem a little too convenient, but I'm not planning on giving them out to very many Pokemon, I promise. There is method to my madness, if that makes sense- you'll just have to wait and find out. I decided on the nicknames so that the Pokemon would seem more like their own unique characters rather than, as you suggested, cool pets. I think individual identity is something that would make them into better characters, though not all of them will have nicknames.**

 **That's all the review responses for chapter one. I hope you all enjoy the next chapter!**


	3. Stone Cold

_Chapter Three: Stone Cold_

"I need my Pokemon to be healed, please," Ash asked Nurse Joy politely. He placed Pyro and Sobek's pokeballs on a tray and Pichu hopped on from his shoulder. They had just finished their last bit of training for the day. Ash wanted them all rested up for the gym battle against Brock tomorrow.

Joy smiled back. "Of course. I'll have them ready for you shortly. In the meantime, please feel free to relax in the Pokemon Center."

"Thank you," he dipped his head and made for the room he'd be staying in while at Pewter City. Ash had eaten earlier and wanted to go over his strategy against Brock a few more times.

According to all the information he'd heard about the Pewter Gym Leader, Brock used only two Pokemon when he battled new trainers- a Geodude and an Onix. Both were fairly low level, but Ash had no doubt they were seasoned fighters. He was pretty sure he had them covered, though. It was just a matter of which one Brock sent out first. Against Geodude Ash had full confidence that Pyro, through judicious use of Metal Claw, could pull through. As long as he could avoid getting hit by too many rock type attacks, Pyro would win.

Onix was literally a far larger complication, but it had to have a weakness- there was no way the Indigo League would let Brock fight against fresh trainers with the stone behemoth unless they had a decent shot at defeating it. Ash figured that the best way he could defeat Onix was with Sobek. His Ant Lion combo would be useful against such a large opponent that had limited mobility to begin with. Once Sobek trapped Onix, it would just be a matter of time until the Sandile whittled their opponent's health to zero. With that said, Ash wanted to try and weaken the beast first by attacking it with Dig. He worried it might be able to escape if it wasn't tired out first.

He was as prepared as he could be for Brock. Ash felt like he had a fighting chance. He would win.

* * *

Ash stood in front of the Pewter Gym the next morning. The building looked old, but suited the rustic atmosphere the rest of the city possessed. Taking a deep breath, the boy raised his hand and knocked on the doors a few times. Several seconds later, a buzzer sounded and the doors opened towards the inside.

He walked inside and found that the gym basically consisted of just a battlefield covered in rocks and a series of stands in case someone else wanted to watch. Ash saw a dark-skinned figure walk out of another set of doors and stopped when the young man began to talk.

"Welcome to the Pewter City Gym. I assume you're here for a gym battle?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. My name is Ash. I'm from Pallet Town."

"Nice to meet you, Ash," the teen replied. "I'm Brock. Are you ready to…oh? You brought someone with you?"

Ash frowned and turned, blinking in surprise when he saw another boy about his age walk through the doors. He had deep purple hair and intense dark eyes that bordered between stern and angry. Quite frankly, the expression didn't suit someone so young.

When Brock made his comments, the other boy looked across the field and shook his head. "I'm not with him. I came here for a gym battle as well."

"I see," Brock nodded and gestured to the stands beside the rocky battlefield. "Well, feel free to watch. Forrest!"

At his call, a boy that looked very similar to Brock hurried out of the same door the Gym Leader had come from. He quickly ran to the referee post between either side of the field and cleared his throat. "This gym battle will now commence. Both sides will use only two Pokemon and the battle will be over when either side is unable to continue. Furthermore, there will be no substitutions. The challenger will have the first attack. Send out your Pokemon!"

Brock threw a pokeball onto the field and just as Ash had expected, a Geodude appeared. The rock type was little more than a spherical boulder with two strong arms that it used to hold itself up. Going according to plan, Ash grabbed Pyro's pokeball and threw it.

The Charmander appeared and spat a few embers into the air. He caught sight of Geodude and hissed aggressively, though the rock type looked unfazed by the threatening fire lizard. As the trainers prepared themselves, Pichu leaped down from Ash's shoulder to stand beside him and watch. The little mouse was trembling eagerly- apparently, he couldn't wait to see how the fight would unfold. In the stands, the trainer that had arrived after Ash settled down and paid rapt attention.

Forrest slashed his hand down. "Charmander versus Geodude- begin!"

"Pyro, rush it," Ash ordered.

Pyro began to run towards Geodude, giving no hint as to which attack he would be using. That was part of Ash's plan- he didn't want to alert Brock to the knowledge that Pyro could use Metal Claw until his Pokemon was actually close enough to use it. If he gave away his trump card right off the bat, there was a chance that Brock would have Geodude fight from a distance, thus crushing any hope Pyro had of defeating it.

Brock was no fool, though. "Geodude, Rock Throw!"

Geodude's strong hands crushed some of the stone field and then hurled the chunks at Pyro. Ash's Charmander quickly leapt aside, doing his best to avoid the rocks while continuing his charge. Geodude crushed more stones in his other hand and launched another Rock Throw, but now Pyro was close enough to attack.

"Metal Claw! Aim for its body!"

"Brace yourself- Defense Curl!"

Pyro's claws flashed a metallic silver as he ripped apart the Rock Throw to get at Geodude. The rock type quickly wrapped itself into a ball, bracing itself just as Pyro slashed at it. Ash heard a grunt of pain from their opponent as it was sent rolling away into a nearby boulder, three distinct gashes along its rocky body.

Geodude unravelled itself, wincing after being hit by the super-effective move. Brock whistled. "That Charmander of yours is pretty well trained. Usually all the freshmen trainers we get with those lizards take a while for Geodude to feel their attacks."

"Thanks, but don't expect Pyro or I to let up on you for the kind words," Ash grinned back.

Brock smirked. "As if! Geodude, Rollout!"

"Metal Claw! Knock it off balance!"

Geodude curled back up and spun with unexpected speed for such a heavy creature. Pyro only just managed to jump out of its way before it could smash into the fire type and wasn't able to get in Metal Claw. Growling, Pyro waited as Geodude turned and made to charge him again, anticipating the timing better the second time around.

Ash was also keeping an eye out for the perfect moment to attack and called at the very last second. "Do it!"

Pyro leaped to the side, out of Geodude's path, and slashed the rock type with Metal Claw while still in the air. Geodude let out a groaning sound and lost control, smashing into another boulder with a painful sounding impact. It tiredly pulled itself up and glared at Pyro.

It was ready to fall. Ash could see it from the way Geodude's arms struggled to hold up its heavy body. Just a little more, and Pyro could take it down.

"One more Metal Claw, Pyro!" Ash exclaimed. "Finish it!"

Pyro lunged and slashed at Geodude again, but Brock suddenly barked. "Mega Punch!"

Ash's Charmander yelped as the heavy attack collided with Metal Claw and overpowered it, launching the fire lizard up into the air. Pyro hit the ground hard and scrambled back to his feet, wincing from the blow. Ash gritted his teeth. He hadn't really gotten the chance to work on Pyro's endurance yet, so any hit was going to hurt. He hadn't been aware that Geodude could use Mega Punch, but he was kicking himself for it now- Geodude's huge arms were perfect for using punching attacks. It should have been obvious.

He decided to change tactics.

"Ember. Circle Geodude and keep it guessing."

Pyro swiftly went into action, running in a quick circle around the rock type while spitting small flames. Geodude shrugged off the flames like they were nothing, but it had trouble keeping up with Pyro's quick movements while Ember blocked its vision.

Brock apparently knew Ash's game and gave another order. "Magnitude."

Ash's eyes widened. "Pyro, jump!"

He barely got the command out before Geodude used its strong arms to throw itself into the air, then smashed down on the field to unleash a small earth tremor. Pyro managed to avoid it by jumping over the ground type move, but it forced him to stop running around.

"Geodude, one last Mega Punch!" Brock snapped.

Geodude propelled itself towards Pyro with its powerful arms and clenched a fist, ready to clobber the fire type. However, just as it swung, the Charmander ducked under and caused Geodude to overextend. The rock type clumsily tumbled over its opponent and landed heavily.

Ash knew Brock wasn't going to give him another opportunity. "Finish it, Pyro!"

Pyro lunged at the stunned Geodude and slashed at it furiously with his metallic claws. Geodude scrambled to get away, but Pyro just snarled and dug his claws into it with one hand while continuing to tear through the rock type's armor with his free limb.

Brock recalled Geodude when the stone creature stopped flailing around. He muttered something quietly to the pokeball and then looked up at Ash. "I'm impressed by your Charmander's perseverance. It didn't take long for it to recover from Geodude's Mega Punch. That doesn't happen often."

"Thanks, but to be honest I'm just as surprised," Ash admitted. "I haven't really had much time to work on his defense yet."

Pyro snorted a small puff of smoke and grinned at his trainer. Ash smiled at him and nodded, pleased with his starter's hard work.

"You've done well with him thus far, I'll give you that," Brock praised as he unclipped a second pokeball from his belt. "That being said, you'll need more than brute force to beat my second Pokemon."

Ash's eyes narrowed. "Get ready Pyro. Here it comes."

Pyro let out a hiss and flexed his claws, ready for the second round of the gym battle.

"Rock and roll, Onix!" Brock hurled the pokeball up and it released its contents a second later.

A tremor went through the ground as a massive serpent of solid rock landed on the battlefield. Onix let out a bellow, a deep sound that reverberated through Ash's whole body. He stared up at the behemoth with wide eyes. He'd looked Onix up in the Pokedex and knew that they were big, but reading about their gargantuan size and actually seeing it in person were two very different things indeed.

Pyro was gazing up at his new opponent with narrowed eyes. He let out a barking sound that was probably the closest thing he could get to a roar in his current form. Onix snorted and looked down on the fire lizard with something along the lines of amusement.

Forrest looked from Ash to Brock and shouted. "Charmander versus Onix- begin!"

"Metal Claw," Ash ordered. "Use your speed to keep away from it and attack its flanks."

Pyro darted forward at his command and immediately hardened his claws. Onix watched him approach and let out another deep rumble.

Brock smiled. "Ash, one thing you should learn about gym battles is that the same tricks never work twice. Onix, Rock Polish and Bind it."

Onix's body suddenly glowed, blinding Ash for just a moment. When the light faded, Pyro was lunging in to slash at Onix, but the rock snake suddenly whipped away with speed that no creature of its size had the right to possess. Ash gaped as Onix bolted around Pyro, stunning the fire type with its unexpected speed. It threw stone coils around the lizard and squeezed. Pyro let out a cry of pain as the Bind began to crush him.

He gritted his teeth. They were completely unprepared for Onix's speed. He had anticipated Onix to be a slow, lumbering behemoth that only possessed high attack. That it could move so quickly threw a monkey wrench in his plans to defeat it. Pyro had no way of escaping Bind, either. Fortunately, Onix hadn't been able to crush Pyro's arms too tightly to his body.

Ash saw the chance and he decided to go for it. "Use Metal Claw! Slash at it until it lets you go!"

Pyro had his fangs bared in pain, but he managed to harden his claws even as Onix squeezed tighter and furiously cut the stone behemoth's body. Onix winced in pain. Apparently, the stone armor wasn't completely full-proof. It was obvious that it would take dozens of Metal Claws for Pyro to have a chance at severely weakening the rock snake, but luckily it seemed like the move's attack boosting properties were starting to take effect. Now and again, Pyro's slashes would start to cut deeper into Onix, making it twitch uncomfortably and loosen its grip.

Brock must have seen it too, because he decided right then to end the fight. "Slam it!"

Onix roared and lifted the coiled tail which was bound around Pyro, then brought it down on the field like a hammer. Ash winced as the force made him unsteady and actually knocked Pichu off his feet beside him. The little mouse got up and stared at the debris cloud with wide eyes.

He wasn't surprised when the dust settled and Pyro was unconscious. Ash recalled his starter and gently ran his thumb over the pokeball. "Great job, Pyro. I'm proud of you."

Ash took a look at Onix and smiled with satisfaction at the deep gouges in the stone behemoth's thick hide. It was obviously uncomfortable and he couldn't imagine it would take much more punishment. Maybe this Onix was relatively young and had armor that was thinner than an adult's. That would explain why Brock was allowed to use it for low-level gym battles.

He grabbed Sobek's pokeball and set the crocodilian loose. Sobek immediately locked his onyx eyes onto Onix and let out a ferocious hiss.

Brock looked surprised. "A Sandile? That's a rarity. I can't say I've ever actually seen one outside of my study book on Pokemon Breeding. Where did you get that?"

"He was a gift," Ash replied. "And he's already one of the best Pokemon in my team. Don't underestimate him, Brock."

Sobek hissed agreement, eyes gleaming eagerly to take on the mountainous serpent in front of him. Ash grinned at his excitement- he was pumped up too. The two of them were completely in sync for this fight.

Their opponent only had to look at Sobek's powerful jaws to take Ash up on his wise suggestion. "I don't think I'll be underestimating teeth like those. Slam it!"

"Dig!" Ash ordered.

Sobek wriggled into the ground in the blink of an eye, just in time as Onix's tail came from the side and pulverized several boulders. Brock frowned. "Move around. Keep it guessing your actual position. Rock Polish once again."

Onix's body glowed again and then it darted around the field even faster than before. It was just ridiculous how quickly the massive serpent could move. Ash felt like they were fighting Ekans again- if Ekans was like twenty-five feet long and made of solid rock.

He knew Sobek could move quickly underground, but this was pushing it, even for him. Ash didn't think the croc could accurately predict Onix with how fast it was moving and decided to go straight into his plan to trap the behemoth rather than weaken it at first. Maybe the damage Pyro had done would make up for the abandoned part of his strategy.

"Ant Lion," he said clearly. He didn't have to be very loud about it. Sobek's senses underground were impressive, and Ash had no doubt that his Pokemon could hear him just fine even if he was several feet below the battlefield.

Onix continued to dart around the field for several more seconds. Ash simply waited for Sobek to make his move. Brock seemed slightly confused by how apparently unworried his opponent was, but then he hadn't heard the last command Ash had given.

As he watched Onix come around again, Ash noticed the ground start to dip and smirked. Sobek had laid his trap.

Onix came around one more time and the battlefield immediately sank under its colossal weight. It bellowed in surprise as it sank into Sand Tomb and wriggled in an effort to escape, but its own heavy build made it nearly impossible. Onix just kept sliding into the pit.

Brock was shouting something, but Onix suddenly roared in pain and the Gym Leader paled. Sobek had erupted from the pit and punched his hard fangs into the damaged section of Onix's body- the same place that Pyro had slashed at with Metal Claw. Cracks extended along Onix's armor, causing the beast's roar to rise into a shriek of grating stone.

"Slam!" Brock shouted frantically. "Get it off of you!"

"Let it go and use Dig!" Ash retaliated. "Unbalance it!"

Sobek let go immediately and wriggled back underground before Onix could crush him. He swam through the sandy pit as if it were liquid and tackled the behemoth's midsection. Onix bellowed as it was unbalanced and wobbled in an effort to regain its balance. However, the movement brought its head low to the ground and that was plenty good a target for Ash.

"Bite its head!"

There was another furious roar from Onix as Sobek leaped out of the ground and snapped his jaws into the rock serpent's crest. The Sandile heaved with all the strength in his massive head and managed to yank Onix to the ground. Ash grinned as the behemoth thrashed its body to get loose, but it was well and truly trapped in the Ant Lion pit while Sobek's teeth were making its crest shatter. He didn't care if Onix was made of stone armor- Sobek had bitten through a steel katana in the Viridian Forest. That had to hurt.

A few seconds later and Sobek snapped right through the stone crest. Onix roared in pain again and slumped to the ground, groaning heavily. Sobek spat out the chunk of rock and hissed at Onix threateningly, but Brock recalled it a moment later.

Forrest called it. "Onix is unable to battle! Both of the Gym Leader's Pokemon are incapacitated! The challenger wins!"

Brock pocketed Onix's pokeball and smiled across the field. "Well done. It takes a lot to do that much damage to Onix."

"Thanks," Ash frowned worriedly. "Um, its crest will grow back, right? I read that Onix can regenerate, but…"

"It'll be back to normal within a week or two," Brock assured him. "I appreciate the concern, though. Onix has taken worse, but that was impressive. I didn't think Sandile's jaws were that powerful."

Ash grinned at the crocodilian, who had calmed now that the battle was over and merely smirked toothily back at his trainer. "Well, Sobek's got the best teeth in the business."

Brock laughed and nodded. "I don't doubt it. He punched right through Onix's armor like it was styrofoam. I haven't seen that in a long time. Anyways, here's your Boulder Badge."

He handed Ash a simple silver badge with an octagon pattern. Ash took the badge and pocketed it for the time being, though it would go into his badge case once he left the gym. He smiled at Brock and held his hand out. "Thank you. It was a great battle."

"It really was," the teenager agreed with feeling. Brock shook his hand and grinned. "By the way, feel free to come back here for a rematch once you get all your badges. There's still two years before the League Tournament, y'know. I'd be more than happy to fight you with my real team once you get stronger."

Ash grinned back wildly and Sobek hissed with anticipation. "I think we'll definitely take you up on that."

"Good. Well Ash, I'd love to chat some more, but I have another challenger waiting on me," Brock glanced up to the stands where the purple-haired boy was waiting patiently. He called over to him. "I'll be right with you! Come on down to the battlefield!"

The boy nodded silently and got up. Brock turned back to Ash and gave him one last nod. "Get to the Pokemon Center and let your team get healed. I know Sandile didn't take much damage, if any, but Charmander has got to be feeling the Mega Punch and Slam it took. Geodude and Onix are low level, but when any rock type hits something, they hit hard."

"I will. See you around, Brock," Ash dipped his head and turned away to leave for the Pokemon Center, recalling Sobek and calling Pichu back to his shoulder on his way out.

He couldn't stop grinning. He'd won his first badge!

* * *

Joy took his pokeballs and smiled at Ash when he showed her the Boulder Badge. "Congratulations! It's not easy for new trainers to beat Brock's rock types. That Onix of his is particularly tricky."

"Yeah, it was a lot faster than I thought it would be," Ash agreed. "But in the end, Sobek managed to trap it and beat it down. I'm really proud of him and Pyro. They worked really hard."

"I can tell," she agreed. "I'll have your Pokemon healed in no time. What will you be doing in the meantime?"

Ash glanced at Pichu, who was practically wriggling with excitement. His energy had been through the roof ever since the battle ended and Ash knew he should probably help him work some of that out. "I think Pichu and I are going out to the practice field to work on Volt Tackle."

"Alright. Remember, we have a charge station here in case Pichu starts to run low on electricity. You're welcome to use it anytime!"

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Ash smiled and scratched Pichu's ears fondly. "We'll probably use it a few times today."

* * *

"That's it, Pichu, keep running!" Ash called to the mouse.

Pichu was currently running back and forth across the training field behind the Pokemon Center. Ash was working on improving his speed while at the same time trying to get him used to releasing a steady discharge on the move. So far, Pichu wasn't doing too badly. He could consistently unleash electricity when he ran as fast as he could, but Ash wasn't sure if it was enough. It was impossible for him to tell if the electricity Pichu discharged was from his primary electric organ or the secondary one necessary for Volt Tackle. He figured the only way to find out for sure was to ask Nurse Joy if she could find out.

Ash thought Pichu was getting close to learning the move- far from perfecting it, but just learning it was enough. Besides, practicing Volt Tackle kept Pichu busy and the busier he was, the less likely he was to try and shock Ash for a prank. He smirked at the thought. Pichu had a habit of zapping him awake and then laughing when his hair stuck up even more than normal.

He adjusted the hat on his head and paused when the speakers outside the Pokemon Center announced that his Pokemon were ready to be picked up. Ash smiled and called Pichu over, letting the mouse rest from his nonstop running.

Pichu was panting when he skittered over to Ash. He knelt down and scratched the mouse's fur behind his ears. "Good boy. You're working really hard."

Pichu leaned into his touch, then snickered and gave Ash a mild shock. It wasn't meant to hurt or even paralyze him, but it made every hair on his body stand on end. Ash rolled his eyes, though he couldn't find it in himself to be annoyed with the electric mouse.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny. C'mon, let's go get Pyro and Sobek, okay?'

The electric type clambered back onto his shoulder as Ash walked back into the Pokemon Center. He made straight for the desk and saw Joy waiting with his pokeballs. She smiled cheerily as he came over.

"Your Pokemon have been fully restored, Ash. Neither of them had any serious problems from the battle," Joy informed him.

Ash nodded. "Thank you."

"I assume you'll be heading for Cerulean City next?"

"That is the plan," he admitted while clipping the pokeballs to his belt. "I want to try and get through Mt. Moon in two days. I won't be leaving until tomorrow, though. Pyro and Sobek deserve a short break and I want to keep working on Volt Tackle with Pichu- by the way, do you know if there's any way to tell if he's actually using his secondary charge organ?"

Joy looked at Pichu, reaching across the counter to scratch the little electric type under his chin. Pichu chittered happily at the attention. "I can do a body scan on him, if you like. It should only take a few minutes."

Ash nodded politely. "I'd appreciate it."

Pichu hopped onto the counter and Joy passed the little mouse over to her Chansey. "Right, Chansey will get him ready."

He was about to say something else when someone walked up beside him. "Excuse me, Nurse Joy? My Pokemon need to be healed."

"Of course," Joy smiled at the newcomer, taking the pokeballs he placed on the counter.

Ash looked at the stranger and blinked. "Hey, you're that kid I saw at the gym, aren't you?"

The boy shrugged. "I guess."

"Did you win?"

"Obviously. Brock's Pokemon aren't that strong. Anyone with a good strategy can win."

Ash frowned. The guy had an attitude, but maybe he was just having a bad day? He shrugged. Either way, the kid was strong enough to defeat Brock. That gave him points in Ash's book.

He felt his stomach growl and figured lunch was in order. He nodded to the kid as he left. "Well, maybe I'll see you around. Let's have a battle sometime, alright?"

"Whatever."

Ignoring the snappy remark, Ash left for the cafeteria with intentions to feed himself and his hard working Pokemon for a job well done.

* * *

That evening as Ash was getting ready to sleep, he reflected on the events of the day. Pyro and Sobek had won him the Boulder Badge- that was obviously the highlight of it all. Both of them had fought well, each of them managing to win one of the battles. When he released them following their recovery at the Pokemon Center, Ash noticed that Pyro's flame was larger than before and his scales had reddened further. He was _so close_ to evolving, so close. Ash felt like he would reach that milestone before they got to Cerulean City or right when they arrived. It was exciting to think about.

He had no idea where Sobek stood as far as his evolution went. The croc was powerful, but his species was still brand new to Ash. He remembered vaguely from reading the Pokedex that Sobek would get more aggressive and his teeth would get larger, but Ash had a hard time gauging the ground type's aggression outside of battle. Sobek was just mellow when he wasn't fighting- not lazy necessarily, but he was calm and preferred to relax. Whenever Ash set him loose, the croc would find the nearest patch of sunlight or the warmest area he could get to and bask. If he stayed in one spot to heat up for long enough, he would open his jaws to release some of the excess heat. It was kind of funny to watch, especially when he fell asleep like that.

Nurse Joy had given him useful information regarding Pichu- the mouse was starting to access his secondary charge organ, but it wasn't yet enough for him to use Volt Tackle. They would have to keep working on it every chance they got, because Ash was sure Pichu would evolve at almost the same time as Pyro. Pichu as a breed just grew quickly and evolved fast- Baby Pokemon weren't meant to stay in their current form for a long period of time. He could already see Pichu's fur starting to darken slightly and electrical attacks were getting a fair bit stronger. Pichu was still the weakest member of the team, but he was the fastest. Ash had no doubt that would continue when he evolved into Pikachu.

His plan now was to get through Mt. Moon. The mountain pass harbored a variety of Pokemon he had yet to encounter along with many trainers passing back and forth between Pewter and Cerulean City. He would get many chances to battle with his team and make them stronger. Ash was also debating catching another Pokemon while he was in there. It kind of depended on what he saw. Geodude and Zubat were known to be common in the caves and evolved into some powerful breeds, but he wasn't quite sure if he wanted one.

Geodude were strong when properly trained, but they had a whole myriad of weaknesses and very few counters to utilize. Moreover, many of those counters couldn't even be taught until they had fully evolved into Golem. Ash wanted Pokemon with versatility. Zubat had the potential to be versatile when they evolved into Crobat. However, both Zubat and Golbat were very sensitive to sunlight and required special training to effectively battle during the day.

He shrugged at the thought. There was still two years to go before the League Tournament began. If Ash decided to catch a Zubat later in his journey, he would. If not, then oh well. There were many other flying and poison types to capture around Kanto.

Mt. Moon wasn't filled with only Geodude and Zubat, though. There were supposed to be Paras and Sandshrew as well, though neither of them really caught his interest. Paras and Parasect were both fairly weak Pokemon, though he supposed their variety of spores would be useful for captures. He didn't want a Sandshrew because he already had a ground type- Sobek. There was no need to capture a Pokemon of the same type as one he already possessed. At least, not at this stage in his journey. He didn't even have a full team yet. Ash figured he would only go to the effort of capturing more than a single Pokemon of any type if the Pokemon in question really caught his attention.

There were also Clefairy in Mt. Moon. He had never thought about capturing a fairy type before, but he'd consider it. Clefairy and Clefable had a decent move pool and were quite rare. Ash decided if he found one worth catching, he'd go for it. If he didn't, then he'd just keep traveling until he found one.

He shifted in his bed and a light grumble made him smile. Sobek's head was on his stomach- the croc apparently found his body heat to be quite comfortable when he slept. Ash was glad Sobek had gotten used to traveling with him so quickly. He had initially thought the Sandile would be difficult to work with, but Sobek was laid-back and at ease around him. At least, he was when they weren't engaged in battle. That was when the infamous aggression of his breed gleefully came to life.

Pyro was nestled by his neck, keeping his tail on a fireproof blanket Ash had purchased earlier that day. He figured it would be safer and more comfortable for Pyro if he had a place to just set his tail that wouldn't burn the Pokemon Center down. The Charmander was sleeping deeply now. He hadn't taken as much damage as Ash had feared from Onix's powerful Slam, but the lizard was still tired from the accelerated healing process that Nurse Joy applied to him. Ash smirked when Pyro made a little snore and twitched.

Ash's little troublemaker was actually slumped over Sobek. The reason for that was because Pichu had a habit of setting off little electric shocks in his sleep that would jolt Ash awake. Sobek's ground typing effectively nullified the small discharges and everyone got to sleep peacefully. Pichu was annoyed at first when Ash asked him to sleep with Sobek, but promised that he could sleep normally again once he evolved. The mouse was having difficulty controlling his power now that he was close to evolution, but he would regain dominance over his random shocks once he was a Pikachu.

He smiled at how comfortable his team looked and decided to join them in dreamland. Ash _was_ pretty tired after all the action today.

* * *

"Pidgey, Tackle!" Shouted the youngster. His small bird folded its wings and dove out of the air, aiming to take Pichu right in the middle.

Ash smirked. "Jump on it."

Pichu snickered and waited until Pidgey was just a few feet away before leaping straight up. His fall brought him right onto the bird's back, leaving it well and truly surprised.

"Thundershock!"

Pidgey let out a shriek as its feathers stood on end from the discharge of electricity Pichu set upon it. The electric mouse giggled mischievously and leapt off his opponent, who struggled to stay in the air.

The trainer they were facing gritted his teeth. "Pidgey, use Gust!"

Ash watched the bird unleash a whirlwind, but it was pretty weak now. He decided it would be best to put Pidgey out of its misery now. Considering the bird was fairly close to the ground, Ash figured it was a good time for Pichu to try out the move they'd been working on.

"Volt Tackle!"

Pichu started to run and built up a cloak of electricity, picking up speed as he got closer and closer. He leapt up at Pidgey and impacted it, but Ash noticed that the charge had begun to break up just before the mouse made contact. He frowned. They still weren't there quite yet.

As it was, though, the makeshift Volt Tackle was enough to defeat Pidgey. The tiny bird fell out of the air and collapsed. Its trainer recalled it and sulkily handed Ash the prize money he'd earned. Ash watched the kid stomp away and shrugged. He had won that fair and square. The kid could sulk or get over it.

Ash smiled at Pichu when the mouse climbed up onto his shoulder. He scratched the electric type's ears and smirked when Pichu let out a happy chitter. Pichu had gotten in several fights on their way to Mt. Moon, since Ash suspected he wouldn't be fighting anything aside from the occasional Zubat when they got to the mountain. He wanted the electric type to get a workout in.

Volt Tackle still frustrated them. Pichu could get the move started and run with the charge, but he couldn't maintain it long enough to make the impact as powerful as it needed to be. Ash pushed that thought aside. They had made progress. Pichu would get it- he was certain.

He continued making his way towards the entrance to the mountain pass. They weren't too far away and Ash wanted to get through part of Mt. Moon while there was still daylight. It would probably take him a couple of days given that there would no doubt be several trainers for him to battle. There was a Pokemon Center stationed on the Pewter City side of the pass, which trainers could use to heal their teams before they made the crossing.

Ash had just spotted the building when he heard someone call behind him. He turned around and blinked- it was the same guy he'd seen at the Pewter Gym.

"What's up?" Ash asked him.

The guy looked serious, just like he had when Ash first met him. "I want to battle you. You were pretty good when you fought at the Pewter Gym and everyone else I've fought along the way here didn't even make my Pokemon break a sweat. I figure you'd be a decent enough challenge for them."

Pichu snickered with delight and Ash grinned. "Those are some fighting words. I'm Ash."

"That's the idea," the kid smirked. "My name's Paul. I'm from the Sinnoh region."

"Sinnoh?" Ash echoed. He'd heard about Sinnoh- it was southeast of Kanto and a fair bit colder. The region was old, but only recently had developed a Pokemon League, and that was still fairly underdeveloped. Ash had heard that the Elite Four and Champion for Sinnoh changed every year because there weren't any trainers strong enough to maintain the titles for very long. They kept getting usurped.

"Yeah. Their League Tournament isn't up to par with Kanto yet, so I ended up traveling here to start my journey," Paul shrugged.

That actually made a lot of sense, Ash would admit. Kanto had an established Elite Four and Champion that ran the region smoothly. Moreover, more people competed in the League Tournaments and there was more experience to be gained by training there for now.

Ash was interested to see if any of Paul's Pokemon were from the exotic region. He didn't know very much about Sinnoh. "Alright, you're on."

Paul smirked. "How does three on three sound?"

"Perfect, actually," Ash grinned. "I've only got three Pokemon right now."

"I see. Pichu, Charmander, and that Sandile, right?"

"That's right."

Paul nodded. "I'll start off then. Nidoran, standby for battle."

He tapped the release on a pokeball and out came a large, pink Nidoran. Ash recognized it as the male variety of the species and made a note of the impressive horn. It was small, yes, but Ash had seen pictures of Nidoran before and knew that the horn on this particular specimen was fairly large.

Ash sent out Sobek. The croc hissed when he spotted Nidoran and bared sharp fangs. Nidoran looked unfazed, though his ears twitched and his poisoned barb dripped toxins.

Paul made the first move. "Tackle. Get in close and use Poison Sting."

"Bite," Ash ordered. "Watch out for that horn."

Sobek waited as Nidoran rushed him, hissing all the while. When the small Pokemon impacted him, the croc used his low center of gravity to keep himself steady. He was pushed back a few inches, but then retaliated by snapping his jaws onto Nidoran's head ferociously.

Nidoran squealed and scrabbled to get away. Paul remained calm, however. "Focus Energy."

The poison type's ears twitched and it stiffened in order to focus its power. Ash didn't know what game Paul was playing, but he wasn't about to let Nidoran stay that close to Sobek while it had a heightened chance of scoring a critical hit. "Fire Fang, then toss it!"

Embers seeped out of Sobek's maw, burning his opponent. Nidoran squealed in pain again before Sobek pulled his head back and hurled the poison type into the air.

Paul's eyes narrowed. "Come down with Double Kick."

Nidoran righted itself in midair and aimed its large feet for Sobek, who hissed at his foe. Ash recognized the danger of being hit by the fighting type move, however, and responded fast. "Dig."

Sobek scrabbled his way underground and disappeared a few moments before Nidoran's feet smacked the ground hard. The poison type's ears quivered warily as it looked around the field. Paul just stood by and watched, eyes narrowed.

Ash also waited. It wasn't like Sobek was going to take his sweet time.

That became abundantly clear when the croc burst out of the ground beneath Nidoran and smashed his large head into its flank. Nidoran was hurled away and came to a stop, ears drooping and looking pretty tired. Ash frowned. It wasn't putting up too much of a fight.

"Long range Poison Sting," Paul ordered. Instead of using its horn for Poison Sting, Nidoran opened its mouth and spat a series of venomous needles at Sobek. The croc wasn't far enough away to dodge, so he just took the attacks and hissed furiously. Sobek was getting riled up. Ash knew that he wasn't going to let Nidoran hit him again without knocking it out.

Paul appeared satisfied by the Poison Sting and grunted. "Double Kick."

Nidoran made another rush and this time leapt up to try and hit Sobek from the flanks. The croc snarled and opened up his maw, which trickled fire. But Nidoran was apparently trained to aim better than that.

Sobek snapped his fangs on empty air when Nidoran's foot collided with his lower jaw. The Sandile was initially surprised and in pain from the attack, but then glared at Nidoran with sudden fury. Before Ash could even give an order, Sobek rapidly snapped his jaws on Nidoran's body and shook it like a rag doll. When the croc finally threw his foe away, Nidoran hit a nearby tree and slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Ash winced from the impact. Sobek really did get incredibly aggressive in battle. If something attacked him and didn't back off quickly enough, it would pay the price.

Paul recalled Nidoran and glanced at the pokeball before setting it back on his belt. Silently, he picked out another one. "Round one to you, then."

"Looks like," Ash replied as he returned Sobek. He scratched Pichu's ears. "Get out there, buddy."

Pichu leaped to the ground and sparked at Paul, snickering. The other trainer seemed to smirk at the rodent and released his second Pokemon. "Elekid, standby for battle."

The Pokemon which appeared was a small yellow creature with short legs, two strong arms, and two prongs on the top of its head. It spun its arms while grinning and electricity charged between the prongs.

Ash looked at it with interest. Elekid were fairly rare in Kanto, though their evolved form Electabuzz was only slightly easier to find. They were the kind of electric type which had traded incredible speed for brute force. When they hit, they could hit hard.

He stated things off this time. "Pichu, Tackle. Run around it and keep it guessing."

Paul smirked. "Charge. Thunder Punch."

Elekid began to whirl its arms again, charging electricity between its prongs. It had only gotten in a few seconds of charge though before Pichu rammed into it with Tackle. Elekid let out a growling sound and built up electricity around its fist, then punched the smaller Pokemon ferociously.

Pichu cried out and was sent flying, but he recovered before hitting the ground and landed safely. Ash frowned. Elekid was a good bit stronger than Nidoran.

"Thundershock," he ordered. He knew Thundershock wasn't going to be very effective, but it would let him measure Elekid's strength without getting Pichu too close to it. He didn't think Pichu could take too many of those boosted Thunder Punches.

The small bolt of energy hit Elekid easily, but it just took a step back and whirled its arms again before launching a larger charge right back at Pichu. Ash's Pokemon weathered the assault fairly well, though it was obvious who had taken the most damage out of that exchange. He frowned again. He didn't think Pichu would be able to win this with their usual tactics of running circles around the opponent and zapping them.

He decided to go for broke. "Volt Tackle! Put everything you've got into it."

Pichu took a second to tense up and build electricity, then rushed Elekid as fast as he could. Elekid seemed surprised by the blur of speed, but its trainer wasn't so easily fazed.

"Meet it head on. Thunder Punch," Paul ordered.

Elekid quickly whirled its arms, then swung a fist at Pichu right as the rodent leapt up to crash into it. The resulting impact was rough on both Pokemon- Elekid ended up taking the full brunt of Volt Tackle, (which appeared to have succeeded this time) but Pichu had been struck with Thunder Punch and took the recoil damage Volt Tackle was infamous for.

Pichu staggered back with a whine and sat down hard. Ash pulled out his pokeball and recalled him. He was just glad that Pichu had finally succeeded with Volt Tackle. There was no need for him to get completely wiped out- besides, Ash could tell that Elekid would have undoubtedly won that round. It was just stronger and more experienced.

Paul arched an eyebrow at his move, but Ash called over to him. "It takes a lot of electricity for Pichu to use Volt Tackle. If he doesn't knock the opponent out with it, he's basically empty on power. He can't fight anymore."

The other trainer nodded and recalled Elekid, which was grinning widely from its victory. Ash would admit that the electric type had surprised him with its strength. Elekid weren't particularly strong, but that one had a lot of potential.

Ash set Pyro loose and Paul gauged the Charmander before sending out his third Pokemon. "Turtwig, standby for battle."

His third Pokemon was one that Ash hadn't even heard of before. It was a small green creature with a large head and a shell on its back. A small plant protruded from the top of its head. He noted the large mouth and decided that would be a good thing to stay away from.

He was curious about Paul's strategy, though. Sending out what appeared to be a grass type against a fire type didn't make a lot of sense. But this guy was good enough to defeat Brock, so he was sure to have something up his sleeve.

Ash watched Pyro swish his fiery tail from side to side and muttered. "Ember. Keep it at a distance and figure out what moves it has."

Pyro growled and started to run, spitting flames at Turtwig as he moved. Paul narrowed his eyes. "Evade it. Use Razor Leaf."

Turtwig began to run away from the embers and retaliated by swinging its head from side to side. The twig on its head started to launch sharp blades of leaves at Pyro, who just growled and burnt them with Ember. Both of the small Pokemon exchanged attacks like that fire a little while until Ash figured it was time to change things up a bit.

"Get in close. Metal Claw."

Paul smirked at that. He waited until Pyro was just a few feet away before barking. "Trip it! Pin it down with Bite."

Turtwig suddenly aimed a Razor Leaf at Pyro's foot and knocked the charging Charmander off-balance. Pyro hit the ground harshly, shrieking a second later when Turtwig leapt onto his back and clamped those powerful jaws around his neck. He scrabbled to get free, but the grass type had him well and truly stuck in place.

Ash gritted his teeth. There wasn't any way for Pyro to get Turtwig off of him. His arms just weren't long enough to reach the grass type clutching his back. He raised the pokeball to recall his starter.

Suddenly there was a flash of white light and Pyro's form glowed violently. Turtwig's eyes widened in surprise, matching his trainer. Ash gaped as Pyro's shrieks deepened to a roar and his body became to change. A horn sprouted from his head and his snout became pointed. Pyro's arms and legs lengthened as he grew taller, and his claws and fangs grew larger. The light exploded away from him with a thrash of his tail, showing that the flame on the end of his tail was blazing more intensely than ever.

The Charmeleon that replaced Charmander's form was easily twice the size of his previous stage. His scales were a deep red and his onyx eyes took on a hint of bluish gray. Pyro pushed himself to his feet with his larger, stronger arms and twisted his head to glare at Turtwig (who had clung to his neck all along) with blatant fury.

Turtwig yelped as Pyro reached around with his long arms and grabbed the grass type by one of its stubby legs, yanking it off the fire type's neck. The Charmeleon held Turtwig upside down and bared his fangs at his bewildered foe.

Ash saw smoldering flames lurking behind Pyro's jaws and decided to try something. "Fire Fang!"

Pyro's jaws lunged forward with a roar and his burning fangs snapped into Turtwig's body. The grass type squealed and wriggled in an effort to escape, but even newly evolved, Pyro was too strong. The Charmeleon shook Turtwig in his mouth a few times and then threw him across the field. Ash watched as Turtwig bounced along the ground harshly, eventually skidding to a stop. Turtwig slumped over and Paul recalled it, his face expressionless.

Ash grinned wildly. "Pyro!"

Pyro turned and matched his grin with fangs bared in a smile. He spat a flame into the air and growled excitedly, obviously thrilled to have evolved. Ash ran over to him and threw his arms around the Charmeleon. He felt the warm, tough scales under his fingers and exclaimed to his friend. "Congrats, buddy! You evolved!"

The Charmeleon let out a pleased rumble. Ash looked up as Paul walked over, looking unperturbed at his loss. The other trainer dipped his head. "It was a good battle. Congratulations on your Charmander evolving."

"Thanks," Ash nodded back. "Though we'll have to train harder than ever. If Pyro hadn't evolved just then, I'm pretty sure you would have won that."

"No point in worrying about what might have been," Paul grunted. "I'll just have to train Turtwig more. He's close to evolving as well- he should get there by the time we reach Cerulean City."

Paul was quiet for a moment. "You intend to participate in the Indigo League Tournament, right?"

"Of course."

"Good. In the event we don't encounter each other on the road again after this, I expect to meet you there on the battlefield," Paul gave him an even look. "You've got more talent than the other scrubs I've seen here in Kanto. Don't disappoint me. If you can't keep up, I'll knock you out of the tournament before it even gets started."

Pyro let out a growl and Ash's eyes narrowed. "I don't plan on losing."

Paul cracked a smirk. "Good. I look forward to facing you again. Make sure you're stronger next time- and I suggest you capture some more Pokemon. The three Pokemon you have now won't be enough to get past any more than maybe three Gym Leaders."

"Don't worry about me," Ash replied. "You'd better work on your own team."

"True," the other trainer agreed. Then Paul left without another word, making his way towards the Pokemon Center.

Ash looked back at Pyro and smiled, scratching the fire lizard at his neck. It was the same spot he had liked as a Charmander and that didn't change in his new form. Ash decided to leave his starter out as they followed Paul to the Pokemon Center. Then it would be on to Mt. Moon and Cerulean City- where Ash would challenge the water type gym and win his second badge.

* * *

 **A/N. Here's the edited version of chapter three. Things are looking great so far, guys and girls! I got a lot of great reception for just the first couple of chapters, so I intend to make this story go on for a long time. Thank you all for that! Here's the review responses for chapter two:**

 **Werewingwolfxx: Can Pyro learn Solar Beam or Focus Blast once it becomes a Charizard?**

 **-I'm currently debating his future** **move pool, but both of those are viable options.**

 **burningphoenix1997: Excellent story with good progression and training patterns. Giving Ash an Eevee is a good idea, but I personally prefer the idea of him catching a Horsea at Cerulean City. Kingdra would be an excellent addition to his team. You could also have him catch a good psychic type. In most stories, Ash always lacks a good psychic type like an Abra or Ralts. Ralts is also a fairy type which would give him an advantage when he faces dragons or dark types which are generally difficult to beat.**

 **-That's a great idea, except that there's a story similar to this one called Traveler that has already done the Kingdra idea and I have no desire to steal any thunder from it because it is a fantastic story. I have an idea for a dragon Ash can get, so leave that with me. As for a psychic or fairy type, I'm still thinking about those, but I do intend for him to capture one in the future :)**

 **Lynxgoddess: I think you're laying the groundwork for a very interesting story. Great work!**

 **-Thank you! I'm happy that you like it!**

 **merry1995: Good story overall! I like the backstory you made for Orre, Fiore, and Almia. Points up for Sandile, one of the few Pokemon 5th gen that isn't ugly! Now I have some questions: Will we see Blast Burn? Will there be Megas? Will Ash get more variety? I mean up to date in canon he never captured a psychic, steel, ghost, or fairy type! Will we see more international Pokemon? That's all! Keep up and good luck!**

 **-I'm glad you like the backstory. I actually thought Sandile would be the perfect Pokemon for Giovanni to give out given its typing: Ground/Dark. Kind of suits him, don't you think? As for the questions, I can only answer a couple of them. Will there be a Pokemon that can use Blast Burn? Well, given that I mentioned Lance's Charizard was capable of using it in chapter one, that is a huge YES! Besides, Blast Burn is arguably my favorite fire type move aside from Flare Blitz. Will there be Megas? That I can't reveal. Will Ash get more variety? Yes, he most certainly will and one of those captures is a type you mentioned that will appear fairly soon. Will you see more international Pokemon? I think seeing Turtwig in this chapter has answered that for you :)**

 **Alright, that's the end of my review responses for chapter two. Look forward to the next chapter and thanks for reading!**


	4. Cascade Blue

_Chapter Four: Cascade Blue_

"Here you are, Ash. Your Pokemon have been fully healed!"

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Ash reclaimed the pokeballs he had given her. He was just about to leave for Mt. Moon, but his team needed to recover after their difficult battle against Paul. Ash had also wanted Pyro to undergo a checkup with Joy to ensure he didn't have any complications regarding his evolution. That was a rare occurrence, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The good Nurse had confirmed for him that Pyro was perfectly healthy after his evolution and ready to resume traveling on the road again.

Ash returned Pyro and Sobek's pokeballs to his belt and let Pichu out. The electric mouse shook himself once released and immediately climbed his trainer to claim Ash's shoulder. He had to admit, he was already used to that. At this point, it started to feel wrong if Pichu _wasn't_ perched by his head.

He thanked Joy again and then left the Pokemon Center. Ash had already double checked his supplies while he was waiting on his healing team. He had everything he needed to get through Mt. Moon- rope, flashlight, jacket, and so on. Pyro would probably be spending a good amount of time out of his pokeball just to light the way and deter wild Pokemon. Ash figured that nothing in the mountain would give him too much trouble if they saw a fire lizard with him.

Ash walked from the Pokemon Center to the mountain tunnel entrance about a hundred yards away. He looked up, noting that Mt. Moon's highest peaks were hidden in clouds. The mountain was absolutely gigantic, but he knew it was relatively small compared to some of the other mountains in the world- Mt. Silver, for one. It was the highest peak in Kanto and Johto, though even it was dwarfed by the infamous Mt. Coronet in Sinnoh, which was said to touch the heavens.

Pichu gave him a light zap that was meant to get his attention and snickered when Ash flicked his large ears. The electric type made him smirk with those little pranks. Ash scratched Pichu's fur and then walked into the tunnel, where he would find the bowels of Mt. Moon and whatever creatures lived there.

* * *

As it turned out, Ash didn't have to wait long before he met the wild Pokemon. He'd only been walking for about ten minutes when a flock of Zubat made their presence known. The small poison types liked to nest in large groups, only attacking travelers if they were startled or had a Golbat with them. They hissed at Ash, but Pichu's sparks and a breath of flame from Pyro kept the little Pokemon away. He just smiled at the furry creatures, amused by their clicking sounds as they tried to determine what he was with echolocation.

Mt. Moon held more Zubat than Ash cared to count. Most caves were full of them, but large mountain tunnels like this were almost overpopulated. Ash found five good size colonies of Zubat in just the first few hours they spent trekking through the caves, though only one of them had a Golbat. He paused when he saw the evolved form of Zubat and seriously considered catching it. Golbat were a fair bit more vicious than Zubat and easier to train in the sunlight. However, Ash didn't think it would be a good idea to catch the poison type because it was literally buried in the Zubat. If he missed throwing a pokeball at it, not only could he accidentally capture a Zubat he did not want, but he could anger Golbat- that might make it set the whole Zubat colony on him and his team, and they were neither strong nor fast enough to escape so many Zubat. He decided to pass on the Golbat. If he saw another one alone, maybe he'd have a go at it.

As time went on, Ash saw a few more of the mountain Pokemon, though he didn't see anything he really wanted to capture. Aside from the numerous Zubat in Mt. Moon, there were Geodude and Paras sitting around on the borders of the path. They weren't even bold enough to challenge him most of the time. That was what made most of his decisions on catching something new. If the Pokemon he encountered weren't interested in fighting, Ash wouldn't go to the effort of capturing them. That wasn't fair to the Pokemon and it wouldn't help him grow as a trainer.

Despite the lack of catchable Pokemon, Ash did run into a good few trainers. They were mostly beginners like him, but Ash had yet to suffer a defeat. Thinking about it, the only times he'd come close to losing a battle was against Leaf (whom he'd tied with) and Paul. Ash was certain Paul was the strongest trainer he'd fought so far. The guy had defeated Brock just like him and obviously knew how to train his Pokemon. He was definitely stronger than Leaf had been when Ash battled her. He knew that there were far more powerful trainers out in Kanto, but for now Ash could defeat everyone who challenged him. That helped with training his Pokemon and earned him a bit of extra money.

However, as Ash got deeper into the mountain, he began to notice things that made him uneasy. A lot of the Zubat colonies began to get really quiet or disappeared entirely. Ash hadn't seen another person for a while and the lack of life disturbed him. Pichu was another reason for his worry- the mouse had his oversized ears pricked and seemed edgy. Slightly ahead of him, Pyro had a growl bubbling in his throat almost constantly. They were not happy.

"What do you think, buddy?" Ash scratched Pichu under his jaw, but frowned when the little mouse didn't lighten up. "That bad, huh?"

Pichu squeaked nervously and pricked those sharp ears of his. A light hiss slipped from Pyro's jaws and the usual swishing of his tail paused momentarily, as if he were listening for something. Ash bit his lip. He knew better than to doubt their instincts.

They hadn't let Ash down before, after all.

* * *

Ash knew he was supposed to be getting close to the halfway point in Mt. Moon. The tunnel system narrowed the further in you went, but had a large chamber deep inside that served as a resting spot of sorts. The problem was, the closer he got to said waypoint, the more nervous Pichu and Pyro became. Ash decided to take a break before they reached rest stop- if there was a fight waiting for him, he wanted his Pokemon to be ready. They ended up sitting in a small, enclosed cave just off the tunnel. It was out of sight from prying eyes and secluded enough for Ash and his team to feel relatively safe.

Not that they actually got to relax at all- Pyro didn't take his sharp eyes off the path and Pichu's ears were on high alert. Ash was tempted to set Sobek loose to investigate with Dig, but didn't want to risk sending him into some kind of trap. The way Pyro and Pichu were so on edge made him certain something was very wrong. Even more disturbing was that the wild Pokemon were completely gone.

Pyro suddenly froze and Ash saw his lip curl, exposing the lizard's fangs. The boy's hand drifted towards Sobek's pokeball. He tensed when he heard footsteps and voices, but remained silent. Whoever it was didn't need to know they were there- as long as they didn't attack, Ash's Pokemon would bring them no harm.

Ash saw two figures walk down the tunnel, opposite the direction he'd been traveling. Their backs were to him, so there was no chance they'd spot him even with Pyro's tail lighting up the inside of their little cave. He didn't move, instead listening to whatever they were talking about.

"Ugh, I can't believe we got put on some grunt job like this. Blocking the tunnel entrance? Really? Do we have to walk all that way? Why not just bring the ceiling down right here?" The first man grumbled.

"Because that might make the whole tunnel collapse, you idiot. There's a reason you get the grunt jobs," huffed his companion, another man. "Besides, it's an easy job compared to guard duty. Remember that kid that totally wrecked three of our guys earlier? Oh right, you were included in that little group, weren't you?"

"He got lucky! Just because he used some exotic Pokemon from Sinnoh-"

"You got your ass handed to you. Shut up. Besides, Proton took him down. Now he and the other trainers that were stumbling through Mt. Moon can either join us or have their Pokemon taken. We win either way. Team Rocket has the cream of the crop."

Ash was frozen as the pair walked off. Team Rocket. They were in the tunnel, in Mt. Moon. They were kidnapping trainers and stealing their Pokemon. He swallowed hard. The idea of losing any one of his three friends was horrible. Maybe he could sneak past the grunts and get away on the Pewter City side…

Then a thought clicked in his head and Ash realized the Rockets had been talking about Paul. A trainer with exotic Pokemon from Sinnoh- it had to be Paul. He had left just before Ash did. And who knew which other trainers they'd kidnapped? Leaf? Gary? They couldn't be that far ahead of him.

His eyes grew hard. He would not leave any of his rivals here to have their Pokemon stolen by thieves. Ash had no choice but to help Paul and whoever else the Rockets had attacked. He needed a plan. His rival and the other trainers had been caught unawares, but Ash knew the Rockets were here. Plus, Team Rocket didn't know _he_ was here. There was no way he could win in a straight fight, he knew. If Paul had been taken out, then he would probably meet the same fate that way. Fortunately, Ash didn't have to fight fair- these were Rockets. Criminals. They played dirty, and it was a good thing he didn't have too many morals to prevent him from doing exactly the same thing.

Ash quietly released Sobek. The croc blinked at him and opened his jaws, but Ash quickly set a finger against his own lips. That silenced his Pokemon, and Ash quietly filled him in. "We're still in Mt. Moon. Team Rocket is here. They're kidnapping trainers and stealing their Pokemon."

Sobek's eyes narrowed and a steady rage built up in the onyx orbs. Ash quietly continued. "We can't just leave those people here to have their Pokemon stolen, so we're going to give Team Rocket a nasty surprise."

Ash looked at Sobek. "I need you to scout for us first. Go further down the tunnel to the rest area- it's not far away and that's probably where the Rockets have made their base. Find out how many there are and then come back here. After that, I want you to set the other trainers loose. Help get them to their Pokemon- there's just no way we can beat the Rockets on our own. Don't attack unless you're spotted, and trap every Rocket that finds you with Sand Tomb."

His team nodded to him. Ash glanced towards the tunnel to make sure no one else was listening. "Pyro, I'm going to recall you for a bit. Your tail flame will stick out like a sore thumb. I'll set you loose when we spring the trap. Pichu, you're with me. If we run into anyone, I want you to zap them senseless, but keep it quiet."

Pyro nodded again. Pichu grinned with fiendish delight and Sobek bared his fangs aggressively. Ash scratched the ground type under his jaw and muttered lowly. "Alright. Go, Sobek. Remember- quick and quiet. Don't let anyone see you."

The Sandile pushed his jaw further into Ash's hand, then turned away and quietly used Dig to slip away. Ash recalled Pyro a second later and waited in the now dark cave with Pichu, eyes focused exclusively on the tunnel in case anymore Rockets came snooping.

It was just a waiting game now.

* * *

Ash and Pichu didn't have to wait long for Sobek to return, but it was probably the most intense twenty minutes of his life. The last thing he wanted to happen was to hear some ruckus coming from down the tunnel and find out that his Pokemon had been caught by Team Rocket. Fortunately, Sobek did return to Ash without incident.

He saw the croc pop back out of the first hole he'd dug and sighed in relief. Ash waited for Sobek to crawl over to him before muttering quietly. "How many are there?"

Sobek scratched the ground and Ash watched with a frown as the marks quickly went upwards of twenty. He glanced at the Sandile in front of him. "How many trainers were caught?"

Sobek tapped the marks with his claws. So Team Rocket had captured about as many trainers as they had members here. That evened the odds a bit, but only if Ash could set them free and get their Pokemon to them. That took priority.

Ash rubbed the Sandile's head. "Good work. Pichu and I are going in now. You do your part- get to those trainers and set them free. Did you find out where the Rockets are keeping their Pokemon?"

The ground type shrugged, so Ash took that as a no. "Help the trainers find them, but be quiet about it. Remember to take down any Rockets that spot you, quickly. If they sound the alarm, we'll be in trouble."

Sobek nodded and ducked back into his hole. Ash stood up quietly with Pichu on his shoulder and warily glanced out of the cave. Satisfied that the coast was clear, he slipped out into the tunnel and did his best to stay inconspicuous as they made their way for the rest area, where the Rockets would no doubt be basing their operations here.

It was a tense few minutes, but the rest spot was close by. Ash peered around the curve of the tunnel, which would take them to the midway point. The large area had been converted to a mine of some sort. He frowned at that. The Rockets were obviously looking for something besides trainers. Ash hugged the curve of the tunnel and carefully scanned the area, noting the single guard that stood between him and the temporary Rocket base. Very temporary, if he had his way.

The Rocket guarding the entrance to the rest area looked bored and kept yawning. Ash smirked. If he played his cards right, it wouldn't be difficult to take the guard out. But he had to be quiet about it. Glancing past the guy- who hadn't even noticed him with his eyes continually closing with sleep- Ash saw the group of captive trainers. They were tied up on the floor and looked beaten up, but were otherwise alright. Two more Rockets were watching them.

Ash was thinking about how to take out the first guard when he noticed the two that were watching their captives suddenly dropped into deep holes in the ground. Not a sound was made, as they were quickly engulfed in Sand Tomb. He could get them out later.

Sobek quietly poked his head out and glanced around, finding there were no other Rockets nearby. With that, Ash saw him crawl out to the surprised trainers and began to bite through their rope bonds. He had to get to them quickly before any of them panicked.

He scratched Pichu on his shoulder and breathed almost silently. "Get him, Pichu. Knock him out as quick as you can."

Pichu grinned with delight and hopped down his shoulder. The mouse casually skittered over to the grunt and climbed onto his shoulder before the man could notice. When the grunt snorted himself awake, he saw the Pichu by his face and blinked dumbly. Pichu snickered and poked his neck, eliciting a small crack of electricity. The man's eyes immediately rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed. It would have made a good bit of noise if Ash hadn't quickly run forward and caught him, wincing at the weight. He was just glad that the grunt wasn't an especially heavy individual.

He dragged the guy back around the corner and let Pichu crawl back onto his shoulder. Ash got to the entrance of the Rocket Base and glanced to make sure there were no more Rockets looking in their area at the moment. Most of them were busy mining for whatever it was they wanted, while one Rocket (presumably their leader) barked orders at them.

Ash quickly darted towards the group of captive trainers, who by now had almost all been freed and were doing their best to stay quiet. He was grateful for that. It would've sucked if his plan got ruined by someone freaking out. Even more helpful was that there happened to be a bunch of unused mining equipment between them and the Rockets that were currently digging. That gave them something to hide behind.

Scanning the group of trainers, Ash found to his relief that neither Leaf nor Gary were among them. They had probably gotten through just before the Rockets set up camp. He spotted Paul and winced when he noticed a cut on the boy's forehead. It obviously hurt, though Paul just seemed to be royally pissed off. The boy was muttering into a Pokegear, but his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Ash rush over. "You!"

"Shh!" Ash hissed, glancing towards the Rockets. Fortunately, none had noticed their escape yet. He nodded when the other trainers looked at him. "We've got to get out of here. Where are your Pokemon?"

One of the other trainers, a girl with orange hair, pointed at the Rocket shouting orders and then to a black tent not far away from him. "Their boss keeps them in his tent. It's always got like four guards on it. Can you get them back for us?"

Ash glanced at the tent, noting that said guards were out with their Pokemon at the ready. He thought a Koffing, two Zubat, and a Sandshrew were a pretty low-quality guard for so many captive Pokemon, but he figured the Rockets preferred results over methods. They would not, however, last long if Ash caught them by surprise- especially if Pyro and Sobek got a hold of them.

"I'll handle them. How many of you have Pokemon that can fight right now?" Ash asked. "Ones that weren't hurt too badly?"

While snapping his Pokegear close, Paul immediately stepped forward. The girl with orange hair did as well. His rival grunted. "Grotle got injured a little, but Elekid and the others of my team can fight."

The girl smiled dangerously. "My team is all healthy. I got caught before I was able to send out a Pokemon. That boss of theirs is strong- he's got the most savage Raticate I've ever seen."

Ash frowned at the knowledge, but nodded. "You two come with me. The rest of you, stay here. Act like you're still trapped. When we start fighting, run for the tent and set your Pokemon loose as quick as you can. We'll overwhelm them with numbers and surprise."

The group of captives listened to him. Ash muttered for Sobek to go underground while he, Paul, and the girl slipped through the mining equipment and made their way towards the tent. They stopped about ten yards away, not confident enough in their ability to sneak any closer towards four alert enemy Pokemon.

Paul glanced at Ash and mumbled under his breath. "Now what?"

Ash smirked. "Just watch."

About ten seconds later, the ground beneath all four of the Rocket guards unexpectedly gave way into a pit of sand, where they were buried before any of them could react- well, almost all of them. One managed to get a shriek of surprise out of his mouth, and their Pokemon screeched alarms. All over the base, Rockets froze and spun towards the tent.

"Now!" Ash shouted, setting Pyro loose. The Charmeleon roared furiously and slashed both Zubat out of the air before the bats could comprehend what their echolocation was telling them. Sobek grabbed Sandshrew with his powerful jaws, making it squeal in pain. Pichu jumped right onto Koffing's floating body and discharged a mass of electricity, though the gases the poison type emitted made him gag.

Shouts were filling the rest area, but Ash had given Paul and the girl the chance they needed. His Pokemon had made quick work of the guards- now the other trainers could get their Pokemon back. He smirked as there was a yell from the group of captives and they all made a run for the tent. The Rocket grunts looked utterly flabbergasted by their sudden loss of control.

Their boss- Proton, Ash remembered from eavesdropping on the grunts- however, was not so easily enraptured. He set loose the biggest, meanest looking Raticate Ash had ever seen and yelled angrily. "Don't just sit there, you useless idiots! Get them! Get them all! Raticate, Hyper Fang that brat!"

Raticate lunged at him, its fangs glowing a harsh white. Ash dove away as it hit the ground and bit right through solid rock. He gulped. If that attack hit him, he _would_ lose something. It wasn't even a question.

Before the angry rat could have another go at him, Pyro lunged and sank burning fangs into its tail. Raticate spun around with a shriek of fury, but the lizard whipped his head back and hurled it towards its trainer. Proton didn't even get a chance to avoid it and was knocked down by Pyro's well-aimed throw.

Pyro snarled with rage. Any creature that had the nerve to attack his trainer was going to hurt, and hurt badly. His tail flame flared and his onyx blue eyes narrowed to slits. Ash saw the other Rockets being engaged by the now freed trainers. For now, the fight was in the trainers' favor- the Rockets had been caught by surprise, after all. But who knew if it would last. Paul and the girl with orange hair were leading the fight. His rival was commanding Elekid and a large grass type that was probably Turtwig's evolved form, while the girl had a Starmie and Staryu out. They were making mincemeat of the Rocket's Pokemon.

The Rocket boss kicked Raticate off of him and screamed in fury. "Kill him, you fool!"

Raticate bolted towards Pyro, who roared a challenge. Ash whipped towards Sobek and Pichu, who were helping the trainers get their Pokemon back. He shouted quickly. "Sobek, help fight the grunts! Pichu, help Pyro! That Raticate is actually pretty strong!"

Sobek tunneled immediately, appearing on the Rocket's side a few seconds later and snapping at a rather large Golbat. Pichu made a rush for Pyro just as the Charmeleon and Raticate collided.

Pyro was ripping at it with Metal Claw and snapped with Fire Fang, but Raticate was quick. Its opponent no longer had the element of surprise, and quite frankly it wanted the fire type dead. The monster of a Raticate was more aggressive than any Ash had seen before it- he figured it was probably because of the Rocket's treatment of it, but he couldn't feel pity for the creature. It was a legitimate threat that hadn't hesitated to try and kill him. He had to take it out.

Raticate tackled Pyro with a Quick Attack, getting a snarl out of the Charmeleon. Pyro went for a Dragon Rush, but the move was still difficult for him to use and didn't offer a chance for the useful flinch effect this time. Raticate just sidestepped and bit into Pyro's arm. Ash's starter roared in pain as the sharp fangs tore through his scales and flesh.

Pichu made it then, leaping onto Raticate and discharging the biggest Thunder Shock Ash had ever seen. Raticate hissed furiously and let Pyro go, spinning around and biting furiously at the Pichu. It was a slavering beast, eyes bulging and red while saliva flew from its jaws. Pichu clung on for dear life and Ash could only watch with his heart in his mouth. If Pichu got tossed off and Raticate got its jaws into him, he would probably die.

Pyro, however, was not too injured from the bite to get revenge for it.

Raticate _screamed_ as Pyro timed a Fire Fang just right, snapping his jaws once again into its tail and cleaving through it. The Charmeleon hurled the end of Raticate's tail away and roared hatefully, blood flowing from his fangs.

Ash felt sick looking at the gruesome injury, but Raticate was beyond pain or reason. The rat spun around and smashed into Pyro with reckless force. He realized it was a Double Edge- one of the strongest moves Raticate could learn. It would cause recoil damage, but Raticate was just too angry to care. Ash also realized that he'd sorely underestimated this Pokemon. If Raticate knew Double Edge, then it was a formidable enemy that had seen plenty more battles than his team.

Needless to say, the devastating force which struck Pyro sent the Charmeleon flying into the stone wall. Pyro slid to the ground with a hiss, stunned to the point of immobility. Ash turned his back to the battle and called out to his starter worriedly. But that was a mistake.

Raticate had seen Ash commanding its hated enemy and lunged at him, ignoring Pichu still clinging to its fur. It wanted to take out the trainer of the one that had caused it such pain. It would accept nothing less.

Ash didn't even get a chance to shout when Raticate bowled him over with Quick Attack. He hit the ground and smacked his head against the hard stone. He cried out as his head spun from the impact. Raticate lunged at him again. This time, it was stopped not by Pichu, but by Sobek. The Sandile had seen Pyro go down and immediately rushed over to help his trainer.

Sobek had managed to Dig below Raticate and sank his fangs into the rat's back leg, pulling it away from Ash. Raticate spun around and tried to land a Hyper Fang, but Pichu's constant electrical discharges were finally starting to take effect. It was getting weaker. While they kept Raticate busy, Pyro managed to recover from the Double Edge and rushed in to help. Ash felt hope swelling in him. Maybe they could-

Pain.

Ash screamed as something buried sharp fangs into his shoulder. He caught a glimpse of four wings and glowing red eyes, unconsciously recognizing the attacking creature as a Crobat. It let go almost as quickly as it had struck, then blurred away. Ash remembered reading that Crobat were amongst the fastest Pokemon in the world. Those four wings could power some ridiculous speed. He looked up, trying to figure out where it had come from. His eyes locked onto Proton, who was sneering with a pokeball in his hand. Ash felt stupid for not even thinking that the leader might have more than one Pokemon.

It was the last thought he had before his blood began to boil. Ash fell to the ground, choking on pain. There had been venom in the bite- it had to have been Poison Fang. He immediately felt nauseous and the taste of bile swelled in the back of his throat.

He was vaguely aware of screaming around him- apparently, Proton had set his Crobat on everyone fighting Team Rocket. It was an effective plan, going after all the trainers rather than their Pokemon. With their trainers down, the Rockets could overwhelm their panicked and injured opponents with ease.

Ash thought he heard Pichu cry out and felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. Before his vision faded to darkness, he felt the mountain shake, saw a flash of white light, and a titanic roar filled the air. Then he was gone.

* * *

Ash had no idea how long he was unconscious, but he didn't expect to wake up- not after being poisoned by a Crobat. He opened his eyes to find the rock ceiling of Mt. Moon still above him. There was a wonderful scent in the air, and it made him feel better the more he breathed it in.

"Ah, you're awake. That's good."

He blinked and glanced to the side. A teenage girl, probably sixteen or seventeen years old, was sitting beside him. She had waist-length blonde hair and seemed to be a trainer, but Ash didn't recognize her from the group of captives Team Rocket had-

Team Rocket.

Ash almost bolted upright, but the girl set her hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. She shook her head. "No, don't move. Roserade is using her Aromatherapy to clear the poison out of your system. You can't disrupt the healing process or you'll just feel sick."

He frowned. Roserade? The girl smiled and pointed across from him, and he found a green Pokemon with red and blue roses for hands standing over him. The Roserade was gently emitting a green haze from its petals and he suddenly realized why. Aromatherapy was a move used to heal status conditions, like poison, but it was a difficult technique to learn because of the sheer number of healing factors that were incorporated into the special spores. It took a degree of delicacy and control that few Pokemon possessed.

"Don't worry. We got Team Rocket," the girl told him. "It was a close call for you, though. Proton set his Crobat on you first. The venom was in your system for almost two minutes when we got here- any longer and you might not have made it. You were lucky."

"Are the others okay?" He asked. Ash winced. His throat felt dry and he tasted vomit in his mouth.

The girl handed him a bottle of water and nodded. "They're just fine. The trainers that got bitten by Crobat were already treated for it with modified Antidotes. Roserade had to treat you herself because you had the venom in you the longest. Aromatherapy is quicker and more efficient than modified medicine. Once we were sure you all were in the clear, it was just a matter of getting all the Rockets under arrest. All the grunts were accounted for and my Pokemon got Proton."

Ash took a long drink of water, spitting the first mouthful out to get the taste of bile from his mouth. Then he quenched his parched throat and sighed in relief, even if it was still a little bitter. "Are my Pokemon okay?"

"Yes. They were all huddled around you," she replied. "Your Charmeleon had some nasty bites from Raticate and Sandile got bitten by Crobat. They had the worst injuries from the entire battle. Your Pikachu is fine, though. It evolved literally the second we arrived and gave Raticate quite a shock."

He couldn't stop the wide smile on his face. Ash was slightly upset he hadn't gotten to see Pichu evolve, but he was glad that his Pokemon were alright and had won their battle against Proton's vicious Raticate. Now Pikachu could take his rightful place as a powerful member of Ash's team. He was definitely going to be in the next gym battle.

"Thanks for saving us," Ash said gratefully, but then frowned. "Um, actually who are you? And how did you know we were fighting Team Rocket?"

"Paul called me a few minutes before the fight on his Pokegear," the girl held up her own Pokegear as she explained. "I was in Cerulean City by chance and we had an Alakazam teleport myself and several League trainers here. There wasn't much for us to do- you guys cleaned up Team Rocket pretty well, but we were able to arrest them and take out Proton before he could poison more of you."

"As for me, my name is Cynthia," she told him. "I work for the Sinnoh League, but I'm here in Kanto for training."

Well, that explained how Paul knew her. Ash was grateful that the other boy had the means and sense to call for backup before they assaulted the Rockets. If he hadn't, Proton probably would have killed him and most of the other trainers as well.

"Hey, before I passed out, I thought I heard something roaring," Ash started hesitantly. "Was that my imagination, or…?"

Cynthia smiled. "That was one of my Pokemon. She likes making an entrance. You won't see her right now, though- I recalled her shortly after Proton was detained."

"What were they after, anyways?" He wondered. "They looked like they were mining, or something."

"They were looking for Moon Stones and fossils," Cynthia gestured to a few wooden crates nearby that were currently being sorted through by police. "Both are incredibly valuable items and can be sold for a high price. Team Rocket was probably looking to sell them on the black market."

Ash fell silent at that. Before he could think of something else to say, Paul walked over. He dipped his head to Cynthia and muttered. "Thank you again, Cynthia."

"I should be telling you that," she smiled at the boy. "If you hadn't called me, there would probably have been a few casualties."

Paul grunted and looked at Ash. "Well, seeing as you haven't died yet, I assume you're good?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah."

"Good. I'm off to Cerulean City now. We're even by my standing- you set me free and I saved your life by calling her over," Paul gestured to Cynthia and then turned away. "Get yourself some more Pokemon. I want a longer battle next time."

With that, Paul left for the tunnel that would take him to Cerulean. Ash sat up and stared after him. "He's got the right idea. I should leave too-"

"Oh, no you don't," Cynthia stopped him with a sharp look. "Roserade treated the poison in your system, but I still need a doctor to clean up that bite you took. Otherwise, I can't allow you to be discharged from our care."

Ash groaned, but she was unwavering. Roserade smirked in amusement.

This was going to take a while.

* * *

"Well, I suppose you're free to go," the doctor told him, though he shook his head in exasperation. "Personally, I'd rather take you to a hospital to make sure your vitals are stable, but Aromatherapy generally covers everything I can think of as a result of Poison Fang. The only thing you'll need to watch out for is that shoulder- don't open up those wounds, young man. They're deep. Bites from the Crobat line are like stab wounds from hypodermic needles."

Ash nodded obediently. He had been waiting for an hour and really just wanted out now that his wound had a bandage on it. The doctor told him it would likely scar, but it was a relatively small bite. It wasn't as if he'd gotten a chunk torn out of him.

The doctor rolled his eyes. "You young trainers just can't be stopped. Very well, you may go. But if you start to feel dizzy or your injury begins to seep, I suggest going to the nearest town for medical treatment. Do I make myself clear?"

He nodded again and the doctor gestured to the exit tunnel. "That will lead you to Cerulean City. Take your time getting there. If you want, we can transport you with an Alakazam, but I think you'd rather walk, wouldn't you?"

Ash smiled. "Yes. I'd like to stretch my legs anyways. I've been sitting down for a while."

"Alright. Good luck, young man."

The doctor left and Ash made sure he had everything he needed before heading off. Just before he was about to leave the rest area though, Cynthia called him.

"Your doctor gave you the all-clear?" She asked. When he nodded, she smiled. "Good luck then, Ash. I have to stay to make sure these Rockets are transported to prison, but I wish you well."

"Thank you," Ash smiled back. "You really saved me and the others. I hope they don't give you too much trouble."

"Oh, they won't," Cynthia's eyes glittered with something akin to amusement at the idea of Rockets giving her trouble. The look disappeared quickly though, and she turned away from him. "Goodbye, Ash. Perhaps we'll meet again somewhere."

Ash nodded and then turned to leave the rest area. He really was ready to leave Mt. Moon.

* * *

It still took him a few hours before Ash finally got out of the mountain tunnel. He was taking it easy considering his injury, but not slowly. Besides that, he ran into a couple of trainers that had no idea about the Rocket incident further in. Ash saw no reason to warn them seeing as the Rockets were taken care of, but he took the chance to battle them with Pikachu.

Ash was still pumped that Pikachu had evolved. The mouse was no longer a "Baby Pokemon" but in a stage that was considerably more developed and mature. Now he could handle greater amounts of electricity, move much quicker, and learn an all-around larger move pool. Ash was even more thrilled when he found that Pikachu had retained Volt Tackle from his Pichu stage. Now they just had to master it and Pikachu would have the ultimate electric type weapon a member of his species could possess.

He took it easy with Pyro and Sobek because they were still recovering from their fight with the Rockets, though Sobek was less injured and plenty willing to get in a good battle. Ash noticed that his team was a little subdued though. He had a feeling it was something to do with him almost getting killed.

Ash released his team once they were out of the cave system and in fresh air. It was late afternoon. He had just enough time to make it to Cerulean City before night came, which was visible from where he stood by the entrance to Mt. Moon. Before they headed that way, however, he had to talk with his team.

"You guys are upset because Crobat got me, right?" Ash asked. The sullen silence and avoiding looks his Pokemon gave him was answer enough for that. He shook his head at them. "It's alright. Guys, it wasn't your fault. None of us saw Crobat coming. It got a bunch of other people as well. Besides, I'm okay, aren't I?"

The three nodded and Ash smiled. "We'll just have to get stronger and find some more friends, won't we? That way, this won't ever happen again. Deal?"

That seemed to make them feel better, because he got a couple of happy growls and a chitter from Pikachu. Ash grinned. "Alright, let's head to Cerulean City!"

His trio of faithful partners cheered and followed his lead.

* * *

The next morning, Ash woke up full of energy again. He still had to take it easy given that his shoulder was hurt, but there was nothing wrong with a little training before he challenged the gym. Ash decided that he'd like to head north of the city to Route 24. There were plenty of trainers up there that would be good for training.

Before setting out, however, Ash wanted a plan. There were objectives he laid out prior to training that he sought to achieve- like certain moves to learn or combinations to practice. So while he sat down for breakfast in the Pokemon Center, pulled out his Pokedex, and got to work.

Pikachu was the one he needed to spend the most time with right now. Having just evolved, Ash needed to get a better feel for his abilities and teach him some new attacks. Pichu had been limited in his capabilities- Pikachu could learn a lot more. All he really knew right now was Volt Tackle, Thunder Shock, Tackle, and Tail Whip (which he'd never actually put to use before).

Ash definitely wanted to teach Pikachu Quick Attack. A good speed move was always useful if he needed to get close to an opponent. In addition, he wanted to get Thunder Wave and Nuzzle into Pikachu's move pool. His plan was to turn Pikachu into not only a good fighter, but an excellent capture Pokemon. If he could give his electric mouse the tools he needed to paralyze opponents, it would be beneficial both during a competitive battle and when they were capturing a wild Pokemon.

That was something he really did need to work on. Ash loved his team, but he wanted to expand it badly.

While Pikachu worked on speed and electric attacks, Ash thought about what to work on with Pyro. The Charmeleon definitely needed to practice his dragon type moves. Dragon Rush was basically a glorified Tackle at this point and Dragon Dance took a solid ten seconds to even get one boost going. That was useless in a real battle. Dragon type energy was notoriously difficult to work with even for dragon types- for Pyro, it was going to be a real test of mettle. Ash decided that the dragon type moves would take priority for now.

With Sobek, Ash wasn't really sure what to work on. He was still fairly unfamiliar with his evolutionary line. Going through the Pokedex, he couldn't decide on much more than Assurance. Ash eventually decided that his best bet was to ask Professor Oak. Besides, he hadn't called home since…

Ash froze. He hadn't called home at all in the three weeks he'd been gone. Once he got started, it had totally slipped his mind.

His mother was going to kill him.

* * *

"Three weeks," Delia Ketchum smiled at her son through the video phone. Ash gulped and Pikachu did the same on his shoulder. And Pikachu wasn't even the target of her ire. He could see behind that wonderful smile of hers a fury he was rightfully terrified of. Professor Oak had answered the phone, but she had been right there and politely asked for a moment with her son.

Being the intelligent man that he was, Oak did not even attempt to argue with her.

"It has been three weeks since you left and I haven't heard a word from you in all this time," Delia's eyes glared daggers into Ash's soul. "I _specifically_ remember asking you to keep in touch with me every few days or so. You are calling from _Cerulean City_. That means you passed through Viridian _and_ Pewter _and_ the Pokemon Center at Mt. Moon. Unless there was some miraculous blackout at each of those places every time you passed through, I see no reason why you couldn't have called me."

Ash didn't answer her. His mother's smile faded into a scowl. " _Ash Red Ketchum_ , do you have _any idea_ how worried I was?"

"Sorry," he squeaked. "I…I got distracted."

Delia was never able to stay angry for long. Her scowl disappeared and she sighed. "Just don't worry me like that again, Ash. I thought something happened to you."

"I won't," Ash promised. He also did not dare mention that he had gotten injured in his fight against Team Rocket the day before.

"So, how has your journey been so far?" She asked. Now that Ash had escaped the danger zone, he could get excited again.

"Great! Pyro evolved a couple of days ago," Ash grinned. "And Pichu evolved into Pikachu yesterday!"

Pikachu smirked proudly and raised a paw at Delia. Ash's mother smiled at the mouse. "That's great! I'm glad they're doing well. Have you caught anything else?"

Ash scratched the back of his head. "Well…sort of. Actually, Giovanni gave me my third Pokemon."

"You met Giovanni," Delia was absolutely still. "And he gave you a Pokemon."

"Yeah," Ash frowned. His mom had an unreadable expression that he hadn't ever seen on her face before. "Mom, are you okay?"

"Oh," she nodded quietly. "Yes. I'm sorry. What kind of Pokemon is it?"

He thought that she was still acting odd, but shrugged. "A Sandile. I named him Sobek. He's actually pretty strong. He's the reason I won my gym battle against Brock."

That made her brighten up. "So you did win! I'm so proud of you, Ash! Have you challenged the Cerulean City gym yet?"

"Not yet. That's actually why I called," Ash began. "I want to do some training before I challenge the gym. But the thing is, I don't really know what to work on with Sobek. I don't know much of anything about Sandile and its evolved forms. So I was wondering if Professor Oak could help me with that."

Delia frowned thoughtfully. "Hmm…Sandile, huh? I assume you're familiar with their tendencies to use biting attacks in battle?"

Ash grinned. "That's pretty much exactly how he fights."

"I see," she smiled amusedly. "Well, I don't claim to be an expert like Professor Oak, but I think Stone Edge would be a good move. Only problem is…"

"It's a TM," Ash finished. Delia nodded and he sighed. TMs allowed Pokemon to learn so many different attacks, but they were very high-priced. Buying one right now would drain him of funds completely.

Delia smiled with optimism. "Well, better start saving up sweetie! Here, I'll go get Professor Oak. He should be able to help you out."

"Okay. I'll call you before I leave Cerulean City, mom."

"Thank you sweetheart. I wish you good luck on your gym battle!"

With that, his mother walked out of the camera view. A few moments later, Professor Oak came back. He looked at Ash and gave him a wry smile.

"I see you survived."

Ash shuddered. "I got off light. You remember when she caught Gary and I trying to jump on your Rhyhorn?"

Oak chuckled. "I haven't seen her that angry in a long time. You and Gary didn't cause trouble for a week."

Pikachu snickered on his shoulder. Ash flicked his ear and then got down to business. "Professor, I need your help. There's a Pokemon I'm training…"

After explaining to the Professor his problem with training Sobek, Oak began to scratch his chin. "I see…Sandile, eh? That rather suits Giovanni, actually. In any case, I'm afraid I can't help you too much, Ash. Sandile itself is limited compared to its later stages. Your plan to teach him Assurance is good, but I'd at least recommend teaching him Foul Play as well for stronger adversaries. Most of the moves that make the Sandile line effective competitively are learned through TMs."

Ash frowned. He'd hoped that the Professor would be able to help him more than that. But Professor Oak wasn't going to send him off with next to nothing. "Ash, even if there aren't many moves Sandile can learn right now, there are still things you can work on to prepare him for evolution. Sandile's second and third evolutionary stages are bipedal- his battle style is going to change drastically when he evolves. Right now, I'd suggest working on his biting attacks in addition to learning Assurance and Foul Play. Their biting habits are about the only thing that doesn't change when Sandile evolves. You could even work on Crunch if you desired. Sandile learn it easily if their jaw muscles are built up correctly."

Oak paused for a bit. "Actually, if you let me see him for a moment, I might be able to tell you if he's close to evolving or not."

Ash did just that. He pulled out Sobek's pokeball and set the croc loose. Sobek blinked at him confusedly, not seeing a battle around. Ash smiled at him. "There's someone I want you to meet, Sobek. He's going to tell us if you're getting close to evolving."

The notion of evolution apparently was enough for Sobek to decide he wanted to meet Professor Oak. Ash carefully picked him up and held him in front of the video phone for the Professor to see. Oak arched an eyebrow at the sight.

"Can't say I've ever seen that before."

"Seen what? A Sandile?"

"No. I've never seen a Sandile willingly let its trainer pick it up- much less one of the males," Oak said slowly. His eyes were glinting with interest. "Is he always this mellow?"

Ash shook his head. "No. You should see him in battle. He bit off the crest on Brock's Onix."

Sobek bared his fangs in a feral grin at that. It was obvious he took pride in his victories. Oak smiled at the sight. "I have no doubt of that. Well, his teeth look excellent. He's also rather large, which is good- that means he's getting close to evolving."

Oak was quiet for about a minute as he looked Sobek over as best he could, then gave his deduction. "From what I can see, he's an impressive specimen. He'll be a powerful battler when he reaches his prime, Ash. Work with him as best you can and you'll have a valuable asset that few can bring down outright."

That must have pleased the Sandile because he growled agreement. Ash smiled at Sobek and scratched the croc's jaw. Oak shook his head at the sight and grunted. "You're lucky he's so willing to work with you, Ash. Any other Sandile and it would've taken your finger off."

"I know," he replied. Ash looked back at the Professor. "Thanks, Professor. I appreciate you helping me."

"My pleasure, Ash," Oak smiled. "Just remember to keep in touch from now on, alright? In fact…you're in Cerulean, yes?"

"That's right."

"In that case, would you mind doing me a favor?"

Ash blinked. "Sure. What is it?"

"There's a colleague of mine- Bill, who lives in the Sea Cottage by the cape on Route 25. It's a few hours away from Cerulean. He's in need of a trainer that can help him catch a certain Pokemon. Do you think you could help? He tells me he will reward you for assisting him."

"Yeah, I can help him," he grinned. "What's the reward?"

Oak's eyes twinkled with amusement at the boy's eagerness. "That is something you'll have to find out for yourself. I'll tell him you'll be there in a while. Good luck to you, Ash."

* * *

It was a four hour long walk up to Route 25, during which time Ash battled several trainers. They were all about his level as far as experience went, but he won every battle that came his way. Pikachu had gotten Quick Attack down in their second match- it wasn't like it was a difficult move to learn. Sobek and Pyro got a good workout in as well, though Sobek didn't get a chance to practice Assurance and Pyro was still struggling with Dragon Rush. Ash figured that the dragon type moves would just require time for the Charmeleon to master.

Ash finally came across the Sea Cottage where Bill lived. He'd heard of Bill before- the man who developed the Pokemon PC system that trainers used all over the world. He was heralded as a genius who had many times over earned his fame, working with big companies like Silph Co. to develop some of the most high tech devices in the world. Bill liked his privacy though, which was why he lived in the Sea Cottage.

The place was nice and quaint. Ash liked the peaceful air it held- until he noticed the police car parked out front. That got his eyebrows up. He knocked on the door hesitantly, though he was answered just a few seconds later.

He was confronted with a young man bearing a head of curly brown hair and casual clothes. This was definitely Bill- Oak had told him before the reason Bill never worked in a lab was because he couldn't stand formal attire.

"Can I help you?" Bill asked.

Ash nodded. "I think it's the other way around. Professor Oak sent me."

Bill's eyes cleared and he smiled. "Ah, so you're the trainer the good Professor was telling me about. Pleased to make your acquaintance Mr. Ketchum. I'm Bill. Please, come inside."

Ash politely stepped into the house, but paused just a few feet in. The place was a disaster of papers, books, and equipment that Ash probably couldn't even pronounce the names of. Bill scratched the back of his head. "I apologize for the mess. I've been working on twelve different projects for various companies and my own interests. As you can see things get a little…chaotic."

"It's fine," Ash offered a grin. "You should see my room when my mother isn't around."

Bill chuckled and eased up a little. "Fair enough. Now, as for why you're here, I need your help capturing a problem Pokemon. See, I conduct studies in the field on Pokemon behavior, but lately I've been harassed by a rather territorial Fearow. I suspect the bird recently evolved and all those nasty hormones running through it are giving it more of a reason to attack me than normal. However, I would like to study it. If you could capture Fearow and bring it back to me, I would greatly appreciate your hard work."

He grinned. Ash hadn't gotten to battle a Fearow before. This would be fun. "I'm in. Fearow won't know what hit it."

"Excellent!" Bill exclaimed cheerily. "I can show you Fearow's nest right after I deal with my business here."

"What's going on?" Ash asked, recalling the police car parked outside. "Did something happen?"

"Not exactly."

The pair were interrupted by a rather stern Officer Jenny, who had a large Growlithe with her. She had a pokeball in her hand and seemed pretty cautious with it. "I'm here to deliver a Pokemon to Bill, but it's not the friendliest creature I've ever seen."

Ash looked at the pokeball curiously. "What is it?"

"A rare and unique species I've long desired to study," Bill informed him. "An Eevee. They're incredibly hard to find in the wild and getting one isn't easy, even for a researcher like me. I told my contacts that I would take whatever I could get if they had one. Jenny here recently confiscated an Eevee and brought it to me."

Jenny scowled. "I warned you Bill, this Eevee is beyond reason. I can't release it because it actively attacks people, but I can't exactly put it up for adoption, either. You study it at your own risk. It'll take your finger off the second you try to poke it."

Bill frowned. "Surely it isn't that bad."

The Officer's scowl deepened. "You have no idea."

Ash stared at the capture device in Jenny's hand. "What happened to make Eevee like that?"

"Abuse. It was born in a Pokemon mill- a place that illegally breeds rare Pokemon and sells them on the black market. Eevee was half-starved when we got to it. Once it finished eating, it tried to take a bite out of us. One of my newest recruits had to get stitches after getting tagged by the little monster."

He frowned. Abuse could make a Pokemon vicious. Ash had never seen the actual results of it, but he had heard stories.

Bill held his hand out. "I'll take good care of it- we'll be best friends in no time!"

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Outside. I'm not setting it loose in here. It'll rip everything apart."

So outside it was.

Once they were clear of the house, Officer Jenny told Growlithe to heel and tapped the release on Eevee's pokeball. The little creature was released and Ash got his first good look at the notoriously rare Pokemon.

Eevee was a very small Pokemon- smaller than Pikachu, actually. It looked like a small canine with large ears similar to a fox and a bushy tail. Lush, soft brown fur covered its entire body and its eyes were like pools of liquid chocolate. It was actually really cute when Ash first saw it.

Then Eevee tried to blast Jenny with a Shadow Ball and all hell broke loose.

Growlithe barely intercepted the attack with Flamethrower, then Eevee lunged at it, biting furiously at the fire type. Jenny leaped back and shouted a command for Growlithe to use Flame Wheel. Eevee dodged with surprising speed and lunged at the next person it saw- Bill.

It had jumped into the air and was aiming for Bill's face when Pyro materialized in front of the researcher and snagged the little Pokemon out of the air with his claws. The Charmeleon held Eevee up by its scruff and pointed it away from the others, growling a warning to it. Eevee spat furiously and wriggled to escape, but Pyro was not going to let go.

Jenny's scowl returned full force. "You see? I told you it was going to attack us! There's no reasoning with it, Bill. I'm sorry, but I can't give it to you."

"Please, just a little more time!" Bill begged. "I'm sure I can work with Eevee!"

"No. For one, you're not a trainer. You have no way to defend yourself if Eevee decides to get feral on you. I'm sorry Bill, but I'm going to take it back to the precinct. It has to be put down."

Ash intervened then. He could see that Eevee was a problem Pokemon, but he wasn't about to let it get killed because someone had treated it so horribly.

"I'll take Eevee."

Jenny looked at him sharply. "Out of the question-"

"-it's not. Ask Professor Oak. He can vouch for me," Ash persisted. "I'm training a Sandile right now. A male with Moxie. If I can handle him, I can handle Eevee. Let me try and train it."

Jenny hesitated, but glared at him with stern authority. "I _will_ ask Professor Oak about this, kid. If I find out you're lying just to get your hands on a rare Pokemon, you'll answer to me. Think very carefully about what you're asking."

"I'm not that kind of person, Officer," Ash promised. "Please. Just call him. I'm sure I can work with Eevee, given enough time. Don't put it down."

She glared at him for a little while longer before sighing. "Fine. I'll be calling the Professor while you two are out on your little Fearow hunt. Don't let the bird kill you before you get back. I don't like putting a Pokemon down, but I will do so in this case if you aren't able to train it. This Eevee is dangerous."

"All Pokemon are dangerous if they need to be," he replied. Ash glanced at Eevee, who was still struggling in Pyro's grip. He certainly had his work cut out for him.

Jenny shook her head. "I still think you're crazy, but alright. I'll give you Eevee's pokeball once the Professor tells me you're alright to handle it. For now, it stays with me."

She recalled Eevee into its pokeball and went over to her vehicle. Bill looked crestfallen, but Ash offered him a smile and tried to make him feel better. "Hey, where's that Fearow nest?"

That managed to make him brighten up a bit. "Ah, yes. This way!"

* * *

"Now I should warn you, Ash. Fearow are big, scary Pokemon," Bill cautioned him. "Don't be afraid when you see it."

They were hiding behind some shrubs to stay out of the bird's sight, but Ash took one look at the Fearow roosting in its nest on the cliff face they had walked to and snorted. He had seen scary Pokemon before- this one was nothing. It didn't even hold a candle to Giovanni's Rhyperior.

Pikachu was snickering at the Fearow. Ash grinned and scratched the electric type under his chin. "So, you just want us to catch it?"

"Yes please."

Ash looked at Pikachu and the mouse's expression of mischievous delight was obvious. He smirked. "Want to handle this one, buddy?"

Pikachu sniggered and nodded gleefully, then ran out into the open. Ash followed him out and looked up at Fearow, who had yet to notice them. He looked at Pikachu and pointed at the bird. "Stun it with Thunder Shocks and avoid whatever comes with Quick Attack. It might have only just evolved, but I'd rather you not get hit by that beak. Other than that, do your thing, buddy."

The mouse grinned wildly.

Five seconds later, Fearow let out a shriek of surprise as a Thunder Shock plowed into it. The bird whipped its head towards them as it stared, apparently shocked that someone had attacked _it_ instead of the other way around. Pikachu giggled hysterically at Fearow and stuck his tongue out at the bird for falling prey to his prank.

Fearow screamed furiously and lunged out of its nest, aiming its sharp beak for Pikachu's body. Pikachu waited, sniggering all the while until Fearow was just a few feet away. He then darted to the side with Quick Attack, giving the bird nothing but dirt to impact.

Ash winced at Fearow slammed into the ground full speed and tumbled across the grass. Fearow squawked in confusion and bewilderment, dazed from its crash. Pikachu hopped onto its back and the bird managed to turn and look at the mouse dumbly for a second. Then Pikachu began to zap the target of his mischief senseless and Fearow finally got its act together.

A gust of wind blew over Ash as Fearow tried to fly up off the ground. Pikachu continued to hammer it with Thunder Shocks, but the bird stubbornly refused to go down again. Ash watched the madness above him for a few seconds before shouting. "Pikachu, Nuzzle! Paralyze it and bring it back down here."

The large electric shocks disappeared and Fearow apparently grew puzzled for a moment. Then it's muscles clenched and the bird dropped out of the sky with a startled screech.

Pikachu leapt off of Fearow's back before it hit the ground and landed in Ash's arms. The electric mouse was still giggling in delight and Ash grinned at him. Pikachu was having the time of his life pranking Fearow in the middle of battle.

The bird was well and truly immobilized, but its beak was still stabbing the ground around it. Ash figured it still had enough energy to resist capture and gave Pikachu a final order. "Jump into the air with Quick Attack, then come down on it with Volt Tackle. That should put it down."

Pikachu nodded and left his arms to return to the ground. He ran towards Fearow to build up speed with Quick Attack, then made an almost vertical leap. As he reached his peak, Pikachu shrouded himself in a cloak of electricity and began to dive towards his opponent. The bird didn't even see its tormentor coming.

Fearow took the Volt Tackle to the back of its head and promptly collapsed, paralyzed and unconscious.

Ash hefted a pokeball, threw it at the bird, and Fearow disappeared in a flash of red light. The pokeball hit the ground and wriggled for a few moments, but clicked quickly, signaling that Fearow had been captured.

"Alright!" Ash exclaimed. "Nice going, Pikachu! Fearow didn't stand a chance."

Pikachu shook off the recoil of Volt Tackle and gave Ash a thumbs up with his tiny paw. He didn't look very tired at all. Ash remembered when he had been defeated by Leaf's Spearow and realized how much stronger he was after evolving from Pichu.

"That was marvelous!" Bill exclaimed. Ash handed him Fearow's pokeball and the researcher took it gratefully. "Such talent! Pikachu defeated its opponent with so little effort!"

"It wasn't too strong," Ash told him. "It's like you said- it probably evolved only recently. I doubt it knows how to fight well right now, especially given how easily it fell for Pikachu's pranks."

Pikachu sniggered gleefully and Bill chuckled. "Well, I'm grateful regardless. Come now, let's return to my cottage. Officer Jenny should have finished speaking with Professor Oak by now, I reckon, and I still have a reward to give you!"

* * *

Jenny was waiting for them when they returned. She eyed the pokeball in Bill's hand and nodded. "I see you got our troublemaker. That's good. You probably saved me some trouble, kid."

"You're welcome," Ash replied. "It wasn't too bad, actually."

"The only time I'll ever hear those words regarding a Fearow is from a Pokemon trainer," Jenny grumbled. "Anyways, I talked with Oak."

Ash tensed and waited for the verdict. Jenny pulled out Eevee's pokeball and held it out. "It's yours- for now. But if Eevee gets caught attacking someone unprovoked again…"

"I'll make it work," he promised. She nodded and handed him the pokeball. Ash set it on his belt and made a mental note to check on Eevee once he was far away from civilization. He dipped his head to Jenny. "Thank you. I'll take good care of Eevee."

"Any care is better than the care it got at the Pokemon mill," Jenny said bluntly. She shook her head at the thought and made her way back to her car. "Well, I have a job to get to. See you, Bill. Good luck, kid."

Ash and Bill waved her goodbye and then faced each other once the good Officer had driven off.

"Well, I wish you luck with Eevee, but I'm sure you're wondering what I've got for you, yes?"

"Just a bit," Ash admitted.

Bill smiled and walked into his house. He came back out a minute later with a small parcel. "Here you are- like Christmas in the Spring."

He opened the box and gaped at the contents- in his hands were five Ultra Balls and a PokeNav. Ash didn't know much about the latter, but he knew that both items were ridiculously expensive and not something the average trainer could purchase.

Ash stared at Bill. "Whoa, whoa- all I did was catch a freshly evolved Fearow for you! Isn't this over doing it?"

Bill chuckled. "You forget Ash, I've got more money than I know what to do with. This is nothing. The Ultra Balls I'm sure you know what to do with- I figure if you can take out Fearow so easily, you'll probably need these for when you meet something with more bite. Not every wild Pokemon will drop as easily as our troublesome little friend. And I want you to have this as well."

He handed him a black pokeball that Ash didn't recognize. Bill filled him in. "It's a Luxury Ball- designed for making a Pokemon more friendly. If you like, I can transfer Eevee into this from its current pokeball. The poor little guy probably needs some extra love."

Ash smiled. "I'd really appreciate that."

"Right, then I can get to that while I explain to you the features of the PokeNav," Bill said as he led Ash inside, chatting all the while.

* * *

After Eevee had been transferred to the Luxury Ball and he said farewell to Bill (both following a hefty discussion of the PokeNav's features), Ash headed back to Cerulean City. It was evening before he made it there, but rather than go into the Pokemon Center immediately, Ash went to the practice field and sent out his team.

Pyro, Pikachu, and Sobek waited for him to speak. Ash smiled at his three partners. "Okay guys, I've got a couple of things to say. First off, we're challenging the Cerulean City gym tomorrow. The Gym Leader there uses water types, so Pikachu is going to be our best bet."

The mouse puffed up proudly. Pyro rolled his eyes and Sobek growled lightly, but didn't complain. Apparently, the croc didn't mind not having to fight water Pokemon. Ash went on. "From what I've heard, it's probably going to be another two on two battle. Pyro, you'll be fighting as well. Sorry, but we don't have any other options right now. You three are the only trained Pokemon I have."

Pyro grinned, baring his fangs. The prospect of fighting water types didn't deter the flame lizard at all. He swished his fiery tail back and forth a few times and hissed eagerly. Ash smirked at his starter and nodded. "Glad to see you raring to go. You'll need to be."

"The second thing I have to talk about is our newest team mate," Ash told them. "It's an Eevee- the one we had to restrain at the Sea Cottage. Remember?"

Pikachu and Pyro nodded, though Sobek didn't because he had yet to meet Eevee. Ash held out the Luxury Ball so they could all get a whiff of Eevee's scent. "Listen, Eevee was abused by its previous owners, so I need you guys to be on your best behavior. If it tries to attack us, restrain it, but don't hurt it. We have to convince Eevee that we're its friends. If we can't get through to it, Jenny will have to take it away and well…let's not talk about what might happen if it comes to that."

His team made sounds in a chorus of agreement. Ash took a deep breath and held his finger over the release button. "Get ready. This probably isn't going to go so well right off the bat."

He set Eevee loose.

The little Pokemon's ears twitched the second it was released. It looked around warily before spotting Ash and growling with a ferocity that should not have belonged to such a small creature. Ash held his hands out to his side, showing Eevee that he was unarmed.

"Hey, it's okay. I-"

Eevee leaped at him, snapping like a rabid animal. Pyro quickly snagged Eevee out of the air like he had before and held it away from them. The normal type wriggled furiously and hissed, biting on empty air. Ash sighed.

This would not be fun.

"Eevee, calm down," Ash tried calmly. Eevee snarled at him and snapped again, but it could move well with Pyro holding it up by the scruff of its neck. The boy frowned at it. "Eevee, can you just give me a few seconds?"

A randomly launched Shadow Ball was his answer, though the attack fortunately didn't hit anything important. Pikachu looked ready to zap the little canine at the first sign it was escaping Pyro and Sobek had his fangs slightly bared. Pyro was just doing his best to keep a steady grip on the wriggling creature and avoid getting bitten himself.

Ash chewed his lip worriedly. Eevee wasn't responding at all. He decided that talking was out of the question. He'd have to win Eevee over with a different method.

He pulled an Oran Berry out of his bag and cautiously moved around to where Eevee could see him, but not hit him with one of those nasty Shadow Balls. "Are you hungry?"

Eevee took one look at the food and quieted for a moment. It glared at Ash furiously, as if he had stolen the berry from the little Pokemon. He carefully held the food closer to Eevee and almost jumped when it snatched the berry from his hands with surprising quickness. Ash checked his fingers, but hadn't been bitten.

"Pyro, put Eevee down."

Pyro shot him a wary look, but did as Ash asked. He didn't let Eevee go, though. His claws remained on the canine's scruff in case it made another attempt at hurting his trainer.

Eevee finished the berry in record time and glared at Ash again. It didn't immediately spit a Shadow Ball at him though, so he decided it was progress, however small. He was not, however, naive enough to think Eevee was going to let him speak again. So he offered another Oran Berry and the small Pokemon took it without a growl. Ash patiently fed Eevee until it turned its nose up at the food and gave him a cold stare.

"Feeling better?" Ash asked cautiously. When Eevee did not answer, he nodded. "I'll take that as a yes. Alright, Eevee, I've got some things to tell you. Will you listen?"

The cold stare didn't change, but Ash figured that was as good as he was going to get. At least he still had Eevee's attention. "Okay, here's the thing. You're a part of my team now. I'm your trainer- your friend. These guys are the rest of my team. The Charmeleon is Pyro, the Sandile is Sobek, and then Pikachu. All I want is for you to feel better, alright? You don't have to agree with us right now. You don't even have to like us. I just want you to give us a chance, okay?"

Eevee's eyes narrowed. Ash smiled at it in what he hoped was friendliness and not hesitance. "I just need one percent of your trust. I'll earn the rest. Can you give me just that? Just a speck of trust. Because if you can, then I promise I'll treat you well. I'll take care of you and train you if you like so you can become strong. Please?"

Eevee did not react for a long time. After what was probably minutes, the small creature slowly, fractionally nodded. Its cold glare did not let up, but Eevee had given Ash the tiny amount of trust he had pleaded for. He sighed in relief. That was all he needed right now.

"Thank you. Okay Pyro, let Eevee go."

Pyro made a light growling sound that wasn't quite aggressive, then let Eevee loose from his claws. Eevee hissed at the Charmeleon, but didn't attack. Instead, it looked away pointedly, ignoring the larger Pokemon as best it could. That seemed to annoy Pyro, but he listened to Ash and didn't object.

Ash took his Pokedex out and let Eevee look at it. "This is going to tell me a little bit about you, okay? You don't have to do anything."

Eevee huffed and looked away from him. Ash shrugged at the reaction and tapped the scan feature, listening as the Pokedex pulled up Eevee's information.

 _Eevee, the Evolution Pokemon. A rare Pokemon that adapts to harsh conditions by taking on different evolutionary forms. Thanks to its unstable genetic makeup, this special Pokemon has more potential evolutions than any other species in the world. It reacts strongly to unique energy emitted from natural objects._

 _This Eevee is female and knows the moves: Quick Attack, Shadow Ball, Swift, Bite, Refresh, and Helping Hand. Its ability is Adaptability, which doubles the power of STAB moves._

Ash whistled. "Wow, Eevee, you're pretty strong."

Eevee didn't react aside from a mild growl. The anger was actually cute rather than threatening at this point, but Ash wasn't willing to let Eevee know that. He'd only just earned a fraction of her trust. Insulting her would only lose him that precious fraction.

He looked at Eevee again. "So Eevee, do you want a nickname?"

She didn't react in the slightest this time and Ash withheld a sigh. Of course not. She hardly trusted him at all- giving her a name wasn't even an option at this point. He put that aside and put another question to her. "Would you like to sleep outside of your pokeball, or inside of it?"

At that, Eevee looked at the Luxury Ball and jerked her head towards the capture device. Ash nodded. "Alright then. I'm going to recall you now. I'll let you out tomorrow for breakfast, okay?"

Eevee ignored him again, but he didn't take offense. Ash just smiled again and murmured gently. "Goodnight, Eevee. Sweet dreams."

With that, the small Pokemon was recalled to her pokeball and Ash set it on his belt again. He let out a tense breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding. His team relaxed with him. Ash nodded to them. "Thanks for behaving, you guys. Eevee is going to take some working on. Do your best to get along with her, alright? I'm sure she'll come around eventually."

His team grunted acknowledgement and Ash sighed. "I think we're good for training today. Let's get inside the Pokemon Center and get some sleep. We've got a gym battle tomorrow."

* * *

The next day, Ash stood in front of the Cerulean City gym. Pikachu was perched on his shoulder and stared at the building with him. It was definitely a lot different from Pewter's gym- this one looked more like an entertainment facility than one meant for Pokemon Battles. Ash actually double checked to make sure he was in the right place, but sure enough, this was it.

His morning had been good- for the most part. Breakfast was…interesting. When Ash released Eevee, she almost attacked him again before remembering that she had given him a fraction of her trust. Once he was certain she wasn't going to try and bite his fingers off, Ash gave her a bowl of Pokemon food to eat with the others. However, Eevee took the bowl in her jaws and carried it away to eat alone. After eating, she just stared at him stonily until they went outside to warm up for the gym.

The entire time Pyro, Pikachu, and Sobek trained with Ash, Eevee just watched. He thought for a bit that the little Pokemon had confused herself with a Noctowl- all that staring was not typical of any Pokemon that wasn't similar to an owl. He offered Eevee a chance to join them, but she just continued to stare and did not react otherwise.

When Ash was certain they were ready, he recalled his team (minus Pikachu, of course) and set off for the gym.

He walked inside and immediately saw a pretty teenage girl with dark blue hair sleeping on the front desk. Ash went over and carefully rapped the wood, startling her awake.

"I'm up! I wasn't sleeping! Not at all!" she stammered. The girl blinked at him in surprise. "Oh, hello. Who are you?"

"I'm Ash," he told her. "I'm here for a gym battle?"

Her eyes cleared and she smirked. "I'm Violet. You actually came at the perfect time! Now Daisy and Lily can't sleep in either. I'll show them they can't just make me watch the desk whenever they don't want to."

She hit a button and spoke into a speaker system. "We've got a challenger! Daisy, Lily, get to the referee box! Runt, get your team ready!"

Ash heard an indignant yell from the room behind the entrance area and smirked. Violet giggled and gestured to a door on the right. "Go in through there. The battlefield should be ready. We don't have any shows until noon."

He nodded and went that way, but paused when Violet followed after him. She winked casually. "We don't get many challengers in the morning, anyways. Besides, the battles here don't last too long. Two on two is pretty quick. If anyone walks in looking for a fight, there's a nice couch for them to wait on."

Ash didn't question it. He didn't work at the gym- all he wanted was to challenge it.

The battle room was an impressive construct. Bleachers surrounded a huge swimming pool, with several circular floats for land dwelling Pokemon to fight from. It wouldn't be fair for only water Pokemon to be capable of battling here, after all. Ash would've really been screwed if that was the case- he didn't own _any_ water types.

As he watched, two girls with orange and pink hair about Violet's age walked out of a room to the side of the field, groaning tiredly. Violet smiled at them mischievously. "Good morning, dear sisters!"

"Shut up," the girl with orange hair groaned. She was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and pouted when she looked at Ash. "And you, what kind of trainer is up at the crack of dawn for a gym battle?!"

"It's like ten o'clock," Ash pointed out with a smirk. "What trainer isn't up?"

Violet sniggered as the girl puffed her cheek up. "He's got a point, Daisy. Besides, you were on referee duty anyways."

"Then what on earth did you wake _me_ up for?!" Demanded the third girl.

"If us two can't sleep, neither can you, Lily," Daisy retorted. "It's only fair. Go sit on the bleachers or something."

Lily did just that. Ash looked between the three of them and frowned. "So who am I battling?"

"That would be me."

He glanced across the field as a girl who was barely older than him pulled herself out of the pool- he hadn't even noticed her swimming- and turned to face him. "I'm Misty. I'm the Gym Leader here. My sisters are…hey!"

Ash recognized her immediately. "You were the girl at Mt. Moon! The one with the Staryu and Starmie!"

Misty's jaw dropped. "What the heck are you doing here?! Weren't you hospitalized?!"

"No, I got discharged like two hours after the fight ended," Ash replied. "Where did you go? I didn't even see you leave Mt. Moon."

"My Staryu took one of that Crobat's bites and had to get to a Pokemon Center," Misty scowled as she remembered. "I waited until I was sure you were going to be okay, though. It wouldn't have felt right if you got killed- you saved all of us back there."

Ash nodded. That was reasonable to him. Meanwhile, Violet, Daisy, and Lily were staring between the two of them in bewilderment, all sleepiness forgotten.

"Um, you two know each other?" Asked Lily.

Misty glanced at her sisters. "Yeah. Remember what I told you guys yesterday? This is that kid that set me and the other trainers free from Team Rocket in Mt. Moon. He's the only reason Staryu and Starmie didn't get stolen from me."

"Whoa, really!?" Violet stared at Ash in surprise. "Thanks, kid! If something happened to Misty, like, we would've had to actually start acting like Gym Leaders!"

"The gym is in your names! You should be the ones battling, anyways!" Misty barked indignantly.

At that, Pikachu sniggered. He really liked it when people got into arguments that were more amusing than anything. It gave the little mouse something to laugh at, and Ash knew Pikachu loved to laugh. He smirked at his partner's antics and scratched him under his chin while the sisters argued.

Daisy rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. You know you like the gym battles more than us."

"Oh, shut up," Misty scowled. She rubbed her forehead and dried her face of pool water with a towel, then looked at Ash. "Look, I'm grateful for saving me and the other trainers back there, but don't expect me to hold back against you."

Ash grinned. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Misty's scowl turned into a fierce smile. "I like that attitude. This'll be fun. What's your name, and how many badges do you have?"

"Ash Ketchum, one badge," he answered. "Are you ready to battle?"

"Duh. I practically run this gym. I'm never not ready," Misty pulled a couple of pokeballs out of the Leader's box on the other side of the field, then faced Ash. "I hope you're prepared to deal with my water types, Ash. They might be beautiful, but if you aren't careful, they'll tear you apart."

"Bring it on," Ash challenged.

Daisy made her way to the referee's stand and began announcing. "This gym battle will now begin. Both sides will use only two Pokemon and the battle will be over when either side is unable to continue the fight. Furthermore, there will be no substitutions allowed. The challenger will have the first attack."

Misty threw her pokeball up in the air and it released a fish with white and red scales. Ash recognized it as a Goldeen and immediately sent out Pyro. His starter landed on one of the circular floating platforms and spat fire into the air to announce his presence.

His opponent arched her eyebrow. "A Charmeleon? Ash, you do know that fire types are weak to water types, right?"

"I know," Ash admitted. "But I've got a plan. Besides, Pyro can win this."

The Charmeleon growled agreement and Misty smirked. "Suit yourself. Just try not to fall into my pool, or Goldeen will have a field day with your lizard."

Daisy slashed her hand down. "Begin!"

"Pyro, Dragon Dance," Ash said immediately. Pyro immediately clenched his muscles and began to charge up dragon type energy, though it was slow as always. Ash wasn't betting on the boost immediately, though- he was aiming for something else.

Misty scoffed. "It doesn't even look like you can use Dragon Dance properly. This'll be quick. Goldeen, Water Pulse!"

Ash watched as Goldeen leapt out of the pool and fired a sphere of liquid water at Pyro. He shouted immediately. "Destroy it with Metal Claw!"

Pyro's claws flashed metallic silver and he slashed at the sphere, tearing it apart. His attack blocked most of the Water Pulse, though he still suffered a bit of damage before continuing to boost himself with the slow Dragon Dance.

"You're still trying that? Goldeen, fire Water Pulse repeatedly!"

"Metal Claw, back to back! Rip them apart!"

Goldeen began to launch multiple Water Pulses, bombarding its opponent with the spheres. Pyro's claws remained silver as he slashed at the attacks and tore them to pieces, though it was obvious from the bits that still hit him that he was taking damage. Ash wasn't sure how many Water Pulses he could take before they started to wear at him, but he didn't think it would be too high a number.

He was relieved when Dragon Dance finally pulled through and Pyro's reflexes became quicker, his attacks stronger. Ash grinned and put his next string of commands into play. "Start moving to the other platforms! Try to hit it with Ember!"

Pyro rushed away from the next Water Pulse and leapt to the nearest floating circle of land. He spat embers at Goldeen wherever it popped up, though the attacks did little more than harass the fish. Ash doubted Goldeen could actually feel the effects of Ember at all. He was just biding his time."

Misty seemed to be getting annoyed by how long Pyro had stayed in the fight and shouted. "Goldeen, give it a Horn Attack! Knock it into the pool."

Ash smirked. Misty was fiery, but getting impatient would be her downfall in this fight.

Goldeen lunged out of the water and aimed its horn at Pyro. Ash saw his opening. "Pyro, duck and use Metal Claw!"

Using the quickness granted to him by Dragon Dance, Pyro dove underneath Goldeen's horn, leaving him directly below the fish. His claws flashed silver, then Goldeen made a gurgling cry as Metal Claw ripped at its scales. The steel type move wasn't very effective typing-wise, but the attack boost Pyro had gotten from Dragon Dance meant it dealt a little damage. As Ash watched, Pyro's tail flame suddenly flared and he grinned. Metal Claw had just given them an unexpected bonus as well. The extra attack power wasn't necessary for his plan, but he would take it.

Goldeen hit the water hard and seemed to be momentarily stunned. Misty quickly shouted to her Pokemon. "Get it together! Drill Run!"

The fish suddenly leapt out of the water and rotated the horn on its head like a drill before rushing Pyro. Ash had no idea what the move was, but he continued his stream of commands- Goldeen was still a little stunned and moving a bit slower. "Pyro, quick! Jump to the next platform on Goldeen's right side!"

Pyro did as he instructed and immediately turned to face Goldeen, who was still in midair and appeared startled that its opponent was now no longer in attacking range. Ash had a chance and he was going for it. "Dragon Rush!"

The Charmeleon's irises narrowed to slits as he lunged at Goldeen and smashed into it ruthlessly. The Dragon Rush had landed a direct hit and there was no question- Goldeen had _definitely_ felt that.

But Misty still had some tricks up here sleeve and Goldeen wasn't unconscious yet. "Hit it with Water Pulse in midair!"

Before hitting the surface of the pool, Goldeen managed to turn and shot another sphere of water at Pyro, who was unable to block or avoid it this time. The move hit just as cleanly as Pyro's previous one and caused the Charmeleon to roar in pain. Ash watched his starter land harshly on the platform and winced himself. That could not have felt good.

Pyro hauled himself to his feet, panting. He was tired, but Goldeen looked exhausted as well. Taking Dragon Rush- however incomplete it was- never felt good for anything that couldn't resist dragon type moves. It was just that blatantly powerful an attack.

Misty bit her lip and commanded her Pokemon. "Get in close and finish it with Horn Attack. You're almost there, Goldeen!"

Goldeen swam as fast as it could and leapt out of the water to hit Pyro. Its horn made a clean hit to the Charmeleon's chest, but it wasn't enough- Pyro was more furious than ever. He grabbed Goldeen by the horn with his claws and then threw it into the solid platform beneath them.

He was relieved Pyro had survived that, but frankly Ash didn't think he could take another hit. "Pyro, finish it! Metal Claw!"

Misty was shouting frantic commands for Goldeen to get back in the pool, but her orders cut off with a wince the second Pyro's claws slammed into Goldeen's head and knocked it unconscious. The fish's desperate flailing ceased and it went still.

Ash sighed in relief. That was the hardest part of the battle done. Pyro sat down hard on the platform as Goldeen was recalled and groaned. He looked at Ash, who nodded back with a smile. "Good job, buddy. Come back and take a break."

He recalled Pyro. There was just no way that the Charmeleon could last in a fight against another of Misty's water types. They were strong in their own right and Ash doubted she would fall for the same trick again.

Misty put Goldeen's pokeball aside and gave him an impressed look. "I gotta say, I didn't see you beating Goldeen with a Charmeleon, even if it was close. None of the fresh trainers I get here have done that before. You're pretty good."

"Thanks," Ash replied. "Ready for round two?"

"As if you have to ask!" She exclaimed. Misty hurled her second pokeball into the air. "Starmie, you're up!"

The water type which appeared on the platform nearest to Misty was the same one he'd seen in Mt. Moon during the battle against Team Rocket. Ash knew Starmie was pretty strong, but he hadn't gotten a chance to really see what it could do. Regardless, there was only one choice for this fight.

"Go get him, buddy," Ash looked at Pikachu on his shoulder and grinned. Pikachu smirked back and jumped straight onto the nearest platform.

Misty smiled. "That's more like it. So you do have some brains."

"Well, I couldn't let Pikachu do all the work, now could I?" He smiled back. "Go, Pikachu! Get in close with Quick Attack!"

Pikachu darted across the floating platforms, a yellow blur of speed. Misty knew better than to put Starmie in the water against an electric type and shouted. "Rapid Spin! Smack it around!"

Starmie's jewel flashed and it began to spin almost like a helicopter. The star shaped Pokemon flew at Pikachu, who dodged its initial charge with Quick Attack and whipped around to watch Starmie continue flying.

Ash frowned. He didn't think Starmie could fly. That affected his plans a little, but not too badly. "Thunder Shock! Knock it out of the air."

Pikachu began to fire bolts of electricity at the flying water type, which dodged by effortlessly shifting position in the air. It was infuriating how easily Starmie avoided the attacks, but Pikachu was persistent. He eventually tagged it with a shock and momentarily stunned his opponent.

Misty wasn't having any of that. "Starmie, Hydro Pump!"

A torrent of water suddenly blasted from the end of Starmie's first set of arms and whipped all over the field while it continued Rapid Spin. Ash realized there was no chance of Pikachu dodging it and shouted. "Thunder Shock into the Hydro Pump!"

Pikachu discharged another blast of electricity just as a jet of Hydro Pump slammed into him. The shock immediately traveled up the water and got another hit into Starmie, but Pikachu was sent flying into the pool.

Misty went into action immediately. "Starmie, now! Recover!"

Ash's eyes widened. That wasn't good at all. He had no idea Starmie knew Recover- the move was entirely uncommon and incredibly useful. In no time flat, Starmie would be fully healed of the damage it had taken. Pikachu was only just clambering onto the nearest platform when the gem glowed and healing energy began to flow over Starmie.

He immediately set about trying to stop the healing process. "Pikachu, Thunder Shock! Don't let it heal!"

Pikachu fired a surge of thunder at Starmie, but it continued to spin and avoided the move. Ash mentally swore when the healing energy ceased a few moments later and Starmie was good as new.

Misty smirked. "Swift."

There was no dodging that move, Ash knew. Swift was a unique normal type move that was able to hone in on opponents, chasing their energy signature until they impacted it or hit something else. It couldn't be avoided, but it could be countered.

"Thunder Shock!" He snapped. "Blow them away."

Pikachu did just that- his electric shocks destroyed Swift, only for him to get blindsided by Starmie and receive a nasty Rapid Spin to the back for his trouble.

Ash gritted his teeth. Misty was tearing him to pieces. She knew how to take out electric types and had it down to an art. Starmie was systematically destroying Pikachu and hadn't even gotten a scratch now that it had healed itself.

He watched as Misty repeated her Swift/Rapid Spin strategy and knew he had only one chance. Pikachu would not last against the relentless assault. If he messed up here, he was going to lose.

Pikachu destroyed Swift again and Starmie lunged at him with Rapid Spin. There was no chance to dodge, but there was an opportunity to counter.

"Nuzzle!" Ash shouted desperately.

The second Starmie smashed into Pikachu again, the mouse released a small, focused shock of electricity from his cheek pouches. The shock hit its target and while it didn't do much damage, it gave Ash what he needed- paralysis.

Starmie's limbs froze up and it skidded across the platform, almost to the water. Misty saw the sparks dancing on her Pokemon's jewel and scowled. "Refresh!"

"Not happening!" Ash roared. "Thunder Shock!"

Pikachu glared at Starmie and blasted it with righteous fury, stopping the water type's status healing process in its tracks. Starmie's gem flashed wildly with pain and electrical surges, but it was trying to get Refresh to work regardless of the damage it took. If it could get back into Rapid Spin and Swift, that was it.

Ash had no intention of letting Starmie have that chance.

"Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu cloaked himself in lighting before charging Starmie like an electrified missile. He slammed dead-center into the jewel in the center of its body and sent the water type flying. Starmie crashed into the wall of the gym and its jewel flickered a few more times before going dim. Pikachu tensed as the recoil of Volt Tackle took effect, weakening him further, but he did not faint.

Daisy called the fight. "Starmie is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! Victory goes to the challenger!"

Ash exhaled in relief. That had been way closer than his fight against Brock. Even with his type advantage, Pikachu had very nearly lost. The mouse was exhausted from his fight against Starmie, so Ash recalled him quickly to put him into suspended animation. He held the pokeball up and smiled at it. "You did great, buddy. I'm so proud of you."

Misty recalled Starmie and walked around the pool to meet up with him. She sighed and shook her head. "I guess I still have to work on our strategy against electric types. Paralysis still gets Starmie."

"I can't believe how powerful it was," Ash complimented her. He was actually amazed that Starmie had fought so well. "It was like I wasn't even fighting a water type. Pikachu didn't take it out nearly as easily as I thought he would."

"Well, Starmie is one of my main team," Misty admitted with a smile. "It's not every day someone manages to work around our electric type strategy. I didn't expect Volt Tackle either. That's not a common move, even for Pikachu. The only other person I've seen use that is Surge, and I only see him once a year for the Gym Leader conference."

Ash grinned at the praise. He really was proud of Pikachu for his hard work in learning Volt Tackle.

Violet, Daisy, and Lily were suddenly crowding around them.

"That was like, totally awesome!" Lily squealed. "Your Pokemon are so well trained! It's hard to believe you've only got one- oops, two badges!"

"You should definitely come back for a rematch sometime," Daisy suggested. "We battle too, you know! Besides, the runt has stronger Pokemon that she uses for more powerful opponents."

Misty scowled. "Don't call me runt!"

"Sure thing, runt," Violet said playfully. Misty rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath. Violet pulled out a small case containing a badge in the shape of a blue teardrop and offered it to Ash. "Here you go- the Cascade Badge. This shows that you won here, will allow you to better control higher level Pokemon, blah blah blah. You know how it is."

Ash took the badge gratefully and pocketed it. "Thank you. That was a really great battle, Misty."

"I could say the same," she agreed as her smile returned. Misty paused for a second. "Actually, come with me to the front desk for a moment. I have something for you."

He blinked, but Daisy sniggered. "Ooh, you gonna give your hero a kiss?"

Misty went scarlet and glared at her sister furiously. "No! Now shut up and go back to bed!"

"Ugh, you're no fun. Fine, whatever," Daisy huffed before leaving. Lily and Violet snickered, but didn't antagonize their youngest sister any further.

Misty led Ash to the front desk and pulled out a drawer with disks lined up inside. He recognized them as TMs and blinked when she offered him one. "Here. I owe you for saving me from Team Rocket. This is the least I can do."

Not one to question a potentially priceless gift, Ash took the disc and looked back at her. "What move is it?"

"It's Scald. It's a water type move that hits the target with boiling hot water. A lot of the time it'll burn them," she smirked. "Neither Goldeen or Starmie can use it right now, but I've got a few other Pokemon that have it down. Besides, we've got a couple of Scald TMs. You might not be able to use it now, but keep it for when you catch a water type, alright?"

Ash nodded and grinned. "Thanks. I'm sure I'll use it at some point."

She chuckled and offered a hand. "I hope so. Goodbye, Ash. Good luck on your journey- and like my annoying sisters said, come back for a rematch when you get stronger. I'd like to fight you again."

Ash shook her hand and left the Cerulean Gym, setting his eyes south for Vermillion City and its notorious electric type Gym Leader- Lieutenant Surge.

* * *

 **A/N. Whew! Good grief this chapter was long! Second longest chapter I've ever written for any of my stories! Almost 18,000 words! You guys are lucky I'm really into writing at the moment. Getting a chapter this size out of me isn't an easy thing to do. Anyways, here are the review responses for chapter three:**

 **The Sith'ari: Great chapter, I like how Pichu was able to learn Volt Tackle as well as the rivalry between Ash and Paul. Personally, I think that Paul was Ash's best rival in the anime, aside from Gary of course.**

 **-Agreed! Paul and Gary were both good rivals, though I wish Gary had gotten more screen time in the anime to develop his character. There will be plenty of both Gary and Paul in this story.**

 **SilverArgonaut: Hey, this story is great and I think it's cool what you're doing with his team, but wouldn't it be cool if Ash got his Greninja and Sceptile back? They are without a doubt his best water and grass types, like how Charizard is his strongest fire type and Pikachu his best electric and Sandile in Unova was basically his ace there. So I think it would be amazing if you use his aces from different regions, but its only an idea and I don't expect you to do this, but I thought it was a cool idea (sorry for the bulk).**

 **-The bulk is no problem! I like lengthy reviews the most! As for the idea, I have to admit that I did consider doing just that, but I wanted to develop the story in an original way that didn't just echo the anime. Ash might catch a few Pokemon that he had in the anime, but they will be different individuals and behave differently as a result- as for which ones he'll catch, that's something you'll have to wait for and see.**

 **Damon: I loved this. I'm wondering if Pichu is Ash's Pikachu that just hasn't evolved yet. If so, I'm happy to see him with Pikachu and not seeing Pikachu being a dick.**

 **-I'm assuming you're talking about Pikachu's behavior in the beginning of the series (like basically just the first** **episode), because he hasn't been too bad for quite a while if memory serves! Anyways, the Pikachu he has now is very similar to the one he has in the anime- they both love ketchup for one thing and are inordinately strong, but there will be some differences.**

 **Snoozing Lurker: Great! I admit I'm impressed by it, and you indeed seem to have taken after Traveler, and while I can read it you still have to truly get into this story, but if that is the biggest flaw...well, then you are doing a good job!** **Having the Charizard evolutionary line from the start is also interesting, no Damian shenanigans (which is also getting on my nerves) and having Pikachu being captured as a Pichu instead of being given to him by Oak as his starter is also curious.** **Also, you 'spoiled' you might do something with Mega-evolution in your Author's Notes, but I'd advise against it unless you find a way to deal with the 'devolving' issue scientifically. You did greatly with Pichu's Volt Tackle explanation in the previous chapter, but this would be a hornet's nest unless you have something planned for that.** **Keep up the good work at any rate!**

 **-I've said it before and I'll say it time and time again, I love long reviews like this. I'm glad you like the story, even if it has only just begun. I always wanted to see a story like this with Ash starting out with Charmander, but I got tired of waiting and ended up writing one myself, lol. It's the only final evolution starter he got in Kanto and became one of his most iconic Pokemon. As for the Mega Evolution "spoilers" I have not confirmed nor denied anything. However, if I did decide to add Mega Evolution into the story, I would explain it** **scientifically for story accuracy. You are correct in saying that I wouldn't be able to just put it in with no explanation and I'm glad you've pointed that out.**

 **That's it for reviews this time. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Fierce Lightning

_Chapter Five: Fierce Lightning_

Ash watched as Sobek faced off their opponent's Drowzee, which had actually put up more of a fight than he'd expected. Even though the psychic type couldn't affect its Sandile adversary with any of its best moves, it had a nasty Pound attack and kept spitting Poison Gas. Sobek had just taken to digging underground and snapping at it whenever he got a chance. Drowzee was, at this point, playing an unfortunate game of whack-a-mole that involved the "mole" biting back quite viciously.

The other trainer seemed frustrated that Drowzee couldn't defeat its opponent, though Ash thought it was likely he had just made the wrong call because Sandile were rare in Kanto. His opponent probably had never seen one before and knew nothing about them.

He watched Drowzee get bit again from underground and decided enough was enough. "Wrap it up, Sobek. Ant Lion."

Drowzee looked around for a second as the bites stopped, then it froze when its body began to sink into the ground. Sand Tomb had it trapped- now Sobek would finish it.

Ash winced as the Sandile erupted from the ground and snapped his jaws harshly around Drowzee's body. Sobek began to shake his head ruthlessly and their opponent recalled the poor psychic type quickly. He looked a little pale, but paid out the prize money he owed and quickly left.

Ash smirked as he watched the kid run off and knelt to rub Sobek under his jaw. The Sandile rumbled happily at the contact as his trainer praised him. "Good job, Sobek. You're ready to take on some stronger opponents, aren't you?"

Sobek hissed agreement and Ash chuckled. "You'll get your chance at Vermillion. Let's hurry up and get there, okay?"

The ground type nodded and Ash recalled him. He stood back up and stretched, then continued on his way towards Vermillion City along Route 6.

Ash had been making his way to the port city for nearly two weeks now. He'd briefly stopped in Saffron to call his mother and stock up on supplies, but for the most part he just wanted to battle Lieutenant Surge as soon as he could. He had considered going to the Saffron Gym to challenge Sabrina, though he thought better of it after hearing about a trainer with five badges getting completely swept by her infamous Alakazam. Ash knew better than to pick a fight he couldn't win, especially against a Gym Leader as powerful as Sabrina. He would wait until he had at least five badges before challenging her.

So far, he had spent his time on the road racking up experience for his team and money from the trainers they defeated. Ash wasn't desperate for cash, but if he wanted to buy TMs at some point to buff his team's move pool, he would need as much money as he could get. Most of the trainers they took on were beaten by his Pokemon, but Ash did lose once to a man that had been a trainer for nearly twenty years. The guy had a Primeape that he just wasn't able to defeat with his current strength. It had been odd for Ash, losing like that. He hadn't ever lost a Pokemon battle before. Still, it was a good experience.

Not to mention it got Pyro fired up even more for their next round of training.

Ash had been working on his Pokemon's move pool while making their way towards Vermillion. Right now, Pyro was working on learning Flamethrower, Slash, and Smokescreen. The latter two were fairly easy and he'd already gotten them down for the most part, but Flamethrower was taking some work. It required a lot more firepower than Pyro had ever had to handle before. It would just take time. Flamethrower had made more progress than Dragon Rush or Dragon Dance, that was for sure. Nearly two months into their journey and Pyro still couldn't get a grip on the frustrating dragon type moves.

Pikachu was still practicing Thunder Wave. Nuzzle had been easy, but Thunder Wave was a long-range move that required precise aim. Pikachu had so far gotten away with just blasting their opponents with electric shocks, but he needed to work on moves that needed pinpoint accuracy to be effective. Aside from Thunder Wave, Ash had been trying to teach Pikachu Thunderbolt as well. That was coming along nicely. It was a step up from Thunder Shock, and, like Pyro's Flamethrower, simply required practice for Pikachu to build up the power necessary to learn it.

He still couldn't do much with Sobek- not until the crocodile evolved. All Ash had managed to do with him was teach Sobek Crunch (which was ridiculously easy once Sobek got his jaws into something that took actual effort to bite through). Ash did manage to get the Sandile to learn Assurance however. Foul Play was taking time, but that wasn't going to be too difficult. The problem with Sobek now was his limited move pool. It consisted solely of dark and ground type moves along with Fire Fang and Thunder Fang. That left him (and Pikachu as well) pretty sore for variation.

Part of the reason Ash was saving up for TMs so desperately was because his team _needed_ those extra moves. They had a strong variety of attacks they could learn naturally, but TMs would open up a whole new chapter for them in battles. Ash really wanted to get his hands on a Dragon Claw TM for Pyro and Sobek when he evolved, as well as Iron Tail for Pikachu. But for now, his team was making great progress.

Well, most of them. Ash hadn't gotten anywhere with Eevee.

The little Pokemon utterly refused to get along with him. She would not train and only listened to him when Ash told the group it was time to eat. Despite Ash's attempts to be friendly, she offered only frosty glares and the occasional growl for her trainer. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed that Eevee was so slow to trust him, but at least she didn't attack him outright the second he released her from her pokeball. That was a good thing.

Eevee did, however, start to walk outside with him and Pikachu. Ash figured the fresh air might do her some good and let her ease up around them. She seemed to like walking, though any offer Ash made to carry her when she got tired was blatantly refused. While it was clear that the fresh air definitely helped her relax, she did not let up on her passive-aggressive attitude towards him and his team.

She wouldn't battle though. Ash had no intention of forcing her into a fight, but all she did when they got into a Pokemon battle was sit by his feet and stare in boredom. No matter if they won or lost, all she did was _stare_. There were no cheers of excitement when they won or growls of displeasure if one of Ash's Pokemon were defeated. Eevee just looked void of emotion.

It worried him. Ash knew that she'd been abused, but he had to wonder exactly what had happened to make her the way she was. He had gotten her checked out in Saffron City's Pokemon Center, but all Nurse Joy could tell him was that she was a bit underweight and hated needles with a passion. Hopefully she would come around with time.

Ash paused on his way to take a look at the sky and found that it was just around midday. It was getting hot outside as well. Spring was passing quickly- it would be Summer in just over a month. He'd been traveling for almost two months now. Ash wondered how Gary and Leaf were doing. He hadn't seen either of them since the first few days of his journey. Not to mention Paul. Ash had not encountered the boy after Mt. Moon. He was sure that wherever they were, the three of them were probably training hard.

He looked back down the path to Vermillion and blinked as a figure came into view. The person happened to look his way and blinked back.

Speak of the devil.

"Holy shit, it's Ashy boy!" Gary exclaimed. He had a pokeball in his hand and a large Wartortle was walking beside him. Ash recognized the turtle as Gary's starter and grinned. It looked strong.

"Nice to see you, too," Ash replied dryly. "Did you just catch something?"

"Yeah, a Meowth. Freaking cat tried to snatch my lunch, but Wartortle taught it some manners," Gary snickered. The pokeball in his hand flashed and vanished. Ash realized it was due to Gary having a full party of six on his hands. Now the newly captured Meowth would be at Professor Oak's lab, waiting until its trainer needed it.

Gary took a look at Pikachu on Ash's shoulder and smirked. "So, the little troublemaker from gramps' lab evolved, eh?"

"That's right," Ash scratched Pikachu under the chin as the mouse snickered. "He beat down Misty's Starmie a couple weeks ago."

"Did he? Not bad," Gary whistled. "It took Wartortle to defeat that. My Pidgeotto beat her Staryu easily enough, but that Starmie's Hydro Pump was crazy. So what do you have on you right now?"

Ash shrugged. "Aside from Pikachu here, I've got Charmeleon, Sandile, and Eevee."

His rival's eyes bulged. "Where did you get an Eevee?! I've been asking gramps to set me up with one of those forever!"

"She's actually a rescue," Ash told him. "Officer Jenny in Cerulean got her from a Pokemon mill of some kind. She won't listen to a word I say, but she's not attacking me anymore."

Gary's wide eyes cleared and he grimaced. "I see. Sorry to hear that. She healthy?"

"She's underweight, but its not too bad," he admitted. "I got her transferred into a Luxury Ball to help her feel more comfortable. I just have to be patient with her."

"Good luck with that. I'd comment on the Sandile, but I think I'd rather see that in battle," Gary smirked. "But I'll return the favor first, seeing as you don't know what I've got on me. My team now is Wartortle, Pidgeotto, Nidorina, Geodude, Abra, and Machop. I've got four- no, five more back at gramps' place. Almost forgot about the cat."

Ash whistled. "Have you just been catching everything you come across?"

"Hey, you never know when you might need something with a certain set of skills," his rival shrugged. "Back home I've got a Raticate, Bellsprout, Growlithe, Krabby, and Meowth. I rotate a lot of my Pokemon, but Wartortle is a constant on the team. He's my strongest without a doubt."

Wartortle crossed his arms and lifted his chin proudly. Ash grinned at the water type. It looked strong, that was for certain.

"So, I seem to remember you wanting a fight?" Ash mentioned casually. Pikachu's cheeks sparked on his shoulder and he grinned with eager delight.

Gary grinned right back. "Duh. I haven't gotten to battle you yet. Of course I wanna beat you. So how do you wanna do this?"

Ash thought about it. "Two on two? I'd like to have at least one Pokemon on my team that can carry us to Vermillion."

"Psh, it's only like an hour away. You're almost there," his rival told him.

He blinked in surprise. "You've already been there?"

"That's why I'm back here. I'm training," Gary suddenly scowled. "I challenged Surge, but he's got a kickass Raichu. The thing curb-stomped me. It's a four on four battle and his first three aren't too bad. But then he sends in Raichu and it just destroys whatever is left."

Ash felt a little worried about that. He only had three Pokemon that could fight on his team since Eevee wouldn't give him the time of day. If Surge was fighting with four Pokemon, he might not even make it to Raichu. Gary had lost and he had way more potential options as Ash did. Even if he spread his training among many Pokemon, there was no way his team was weak.

Maybe he should train for a little longer.

Gary shook his head and the grin returned. "Anyways, enough about that electric badass. I want a battle with you. Let's do a three on three. If you get your ass handed to you, I'll babysit you back to Vermillion."

Ash scowled. "Don't kid yourself. Fine, we'll take you on."

"That's what I want to hear!"

Gary and Ash backed away from each other several paces and then faced off. Pikachu leapt to the ground and Ash nodded to him- he wanted to go first.

"Alright, if the mouse is going to play…" Gary snatched a pokeball from his belt and tapped the release.

A Machop appeared in front of him. The fighting type cracked its knuckles and grinned at the sight of Pikachu, who snickered back. Ash smirked. They were both ready to have a blast.

"Your move, Ashy-boy," goaded the other boy.

"Remember that you asked for it," he replied. "Unbalance it. Quick Attack."

Pikachu lunged at Machop with a blur of speed, zig zagging to keep the fighting type guessing. Gary smirked and retaliated. "Low Sweep. Knock it back."

Machop watched Pikachu's movements and waited until he was close enough to strike. The moment Pikachu made to actually hit Machop, the fighting type brought its leg back with surprisingly fast reflexes and delivered a powerful kick into its opponent's flank.

The attack repelled Pikachu away several meters. He hit the ground hard and skidded a ways, but recovered quickly. The electric mouse watched as Machop sneered at him. But Pikachu merely grinned right back. Shots had been fired, but they would be quickly returned.

"Focus Up!" Gary commanded.

"Quick Stun!" Ash countered.

Machop tensed and flexed rapidly growing muscles in what Ash assumed was a combination of Focus Energy and Bulk Up judging from the name of the technique. Pikachu darted at it with Quick Attack, intending to immobilize Machop before it could increase its power.

Quick Stun was simply Quick Attack with Nuzzle added to it. The whole purpose wasn't so much to damage as it was to deliver a fast-acting paralysis that most Pokemon wouldn't be fast enough to avoid. Machop hadn't knocked Pikachu back too much, so it was only a second before the mouse tackled his opponent and delivered the paralysis-inducing Nuzzle.

Machop's eyes widened when it realized what had happened to it and gritted its teeth. Ash had caught it right in the middle of boosting its power and that had clearly left an effect going by the uncomfortable twitching of Machop's muscles.

Gary realized it as well and snapped. "Revenge!"

"Dodge," he ordered. "Back off and use Thunderbolt."

Machop made to grab Pikachu, but it was slowed by the paralysis and had no hope of catching the quick electric type. Pikachu retreated a few meters and then unleashed a huge discharge of electricity. The blast hit Machop head on and the fighting type cried out in pain.

"Don't freeze up!" Gary shouted. "Get in there! Revenge!"

"Keep it at a distance and blast it," Ash told Pikachu. "If it gets close, Quick Attack to avoid whatever comes."

Machop tried to follow Gary's commands and get in close, but Pikachu was having none of it. With the fighting type paralyzed and weakened from the first Thunderbolt, Pikachu started his usual pranking- darting around and zapping Machop with casual shocks. The behavior infuriated Machop, but its debilitated status meant it had no chance of getting in a counterattack.

Ash let Pikachu have his fun for a minute or two before deciding enough was enough. "Alright Pikachu, that's good. Finish it off."

The mouse was sniggering with glee, but he took his trainer's words to heart. Machop was panting and furious, greatly weakened from the electrical assault. Gary looked just as angry by how easily Pikachu was getting the better of his Pokemon, but he could do nothing.

Pikachu stopped to deliver a Thunderbolt that held none of his usual lighthearted pranking. The bolt slammed into Machop and knocked the fighting type out before it hit the ground.

Gary recalled Machop and scowled as Pikachu snickered in his victory. "That mouse of yours is just as annoying as I heard."

"He's a prankster, that's for sure," Ash said wryly. Pikachu giggled again and retreated to stand by his feet again. Ash knelt to scratch his ears, then pulled out his second pokeball.

He sent out Sobek for the next round. The croc locked his eyes on Gary and hissed aggressively, challenging Ash's rival. Gary looked unimpressed by the display and snapped. "Wartortle, you're up."

The large turtle casually moved forward and grinned at Sobek. The Sandile growled in displeasure at the sight of the water type, but didn't back down. Ash knew this wouldn't be easy, but he did have a strategy for opponents like this.

"Ant Lion!"

Sobek was underground in a flash, getting away from whatever attack Wartortle could throw at him. The turtle looked around his feet warily, but didn't realize he was being trapped until his feet began to sink into Sand Tomb. However, Wartortle didn't panic like the countless others Sobek had trapped like this and simply waited patiently.

Wartortle was far too at ease in his present situation for Ash's liking. He continued his chain of command quickly. "Thunder Fang!"

Sobek erupted from the sand pit and snapped his jaws into Wartortle's shell, electricity surging from the bite. Wartortle growled angrily at his attacker, but did not react until Gary gave his commands.

"Get it off of you with Rapid Spin," Gary ordered. "Balance yourself and then Water Pulse."

The turtle suddenly retreated back into his shell and began to spin. Rapid Spin tore it out of Sobek's jaws and Ash saw a few of the croc's teeth get pulled out forcibly from his jaws. Sobek snarled, snapping at Wartortle, but his opponent had spun into the air and escaped.

Wartortle popped out of his shell and created a sphere of water between his claws before launching it right at Sobek in the center of the sand pit. The croc was still snapping around and managed to destroy the Water Pulse with an angry bite.

Gary wasn't perturbed. He seemed far more comfortable fighting with Wartortle- that brought Ash to believe that Machop had been a recent capture of his. Wartortle was Gary's trump card.

"Aqua Tail. Wrap this up."

Ash watched as Wartortle's tail became enveloped in a layer of water. The turtle began to spin head over heels rapidly, coming down towards Sobek. He narrowed his eyes. "Get it with Thunder Fang when it comes down."

Sobek glared at Wartortle's incoming figures and opened his jaws wide, electricity crackling along the fangs. Ash winced when he saw blood dripping from the Sandile's mouth- a repercussion of getting his teeth knocked out by Wartortle's Rapid Spin. But the croc was still plenty angry and aggressive enough to keep fighting.

He snapped at Wartortle as the turtle got within a few feet, but underestimated the distance and fell short of his target. Aqua Tail slammed into Sobek's skull and Ash watched his partner's eyes briefly widen in surprise and pain before he was knocked out.

Ash frowned. He couldn't remember Sobek ever being defeated so quickly before- he'd lost only a few times as it was. Wartortle had defeated the ground type more cleanly than any other adversary before him. Ash pinned it on Sobek having not evolved yet. He was just reaching the limits of what a Sandile could do.

He recalled Sobek and Gary recalled Wartortle. Ash reached for his last pokeball and tapped the release button. Pyro materialized and spat a small fireball before leering at Gary. Ash's rival grinned and tossed out his own pokeball, unleashing a Nidorina.

Ash eyed the small blue creature speculatively. Nidorina were from the female variants of the Nidoran family, a parallel to the male Nidorino. They were more docile than the aggressive males and lacked a horn, but still had venomous barbs, a fierce bite, and a sturdy body. Ash had never fought one before, but given that she was a poison type he decided that keeping his distance was a smart plan.

"Ember," Ash began slowly. "Test her reflexes. Avoid hitting her physically. She can poison you."

Pyro swished his tail to acknowledge him and spat a few small flames in Nidorina's direction. She dodged by jumping to the side and running as Pyro strafed after her with Ember. Ash watched Nidorina carefully- she wasn't too fast, but he could tell that Gary had worked with her more than Machop. She was confident in her movements and just as calm as Wartortle. Gary also hadn't commanded her yet- he was analyzing Pyro just as much as Ash was analyzing Nidorina.

He judged her to be a substantial threat and changed tactics. "Smokescreen, then Dragon Dance."

His starter ended his barrage of flames and instead exhaled a large cloud of oily black smoke. Ash lost sight of him, but that was the idea- Pyro still took over ten seconds to charge up one Dragon Dance. Doing it outright was impossible without the opponent attacking, but by concealing his position, Pyro could gain the precious seconds he needed to boost himself.

Gary's eyes narrowed. "Poison Sting into the smoke. Find it."

Nidorina spat several toxic needles into the smokescreen in various directions. Ash didn't hear Pyro react to any of them, so he assumed that the Charmeleon either hadn't been hit or was ignoring the pain of Poison Sting to keep Dragon Dance going.

The fifteen seconds Pyro needed came through and Ash immediately went into action. "Flamethrower. Clear the smoke away."

At his command, a stream of flames tore through the smoke and blew it aside, forcing Nidorina to scramble away. Pyro emerged relatively unscathed, though Ash could see a few of the stings had dug into his scales. The Charmeleon looked more angry than anything, but Ash decided he'd rather end the battle quickly- poison was debilitating and he had no idea how potent Nidorina's venom could be. It would be best to knock her out as fast as he could before the poison exhausted his starter.

Pyro spotted Nidorina and launched another Flamethrower, but she ducked under it and avoided the flames again. Flamethrower was still rather inaccurate at a distance. It served more as a deterrent than anything for now, but Ash had other ways of making it useful.

"Rush in and Flamethrower at close range," he commanded.

"Keep up Poison Sting," Gary countered. "Aim for its feet."

Pyro lunged at Nidorina, though he had to make his way around her Poison Sting when she tried to keep him at bay. Ash was patient- Pyro didn't need to get right up on Nidorina, just close enough to launch Flamethrower accurately. Once he was just a few meters away, the Charmeleon began to breathe streams of fire at his opponent.

Nidorina shied away from the flames, but her trainer wasn't about to let Pyro get away with the damage he'd done. "Tackle it! Knock that lizard back."

Ash was surprised when Nidorina literally ran right through Pyro's flames and smashed the full weight of her body into his stomach. Pyro was actually lifted off his feet and hit the ground hard, a little stunned from the blow. Nidorina was wincing from the pain of running into fire, but she shook her body and recovered quickly.

Pyro got himself back on his feet and growled angrily. Gary moved to act on his temporary advantage. "Poison Fang!"

"Dodge!" Ash said quickly. "Slash at her shoulder."

Nidorina charged again and snapped at Pyro with teeth that dripped venom. Pyro sidestepped her with his increased speed and delivered a ferocious strike to the poison type with his sharp claws. The blow unbalanced Nidorina and she crashed headfirst into the ground.

Gary cursed and snapped. "Get up! Use Double Kick!"

Ash frowned. "Get ready to intercept."

Pyro stood his ground as Nidorina ran at him again. At the last second before she would have rammed into him, Nidorina dug her front feet in, spun around and kicked out with her back legs. Pyro's claws came up and caught her kicks, effectively immobilizing her.

Nidorina started to wriggle in an attempt to escape, but Ash wasn't about to let his opportunity go to waste. "Pin her down with Metal Claw!"

Pyro let go of her leg for just a split second and dug silver steel claws into the poison type at the back of her head, pushing her into the ground. The steel type move effectively disarmed Nidorina's venomous barbs. Gary was shouting orders, but Nidorina was trapped and Ash was ready to end this fight. "Flamethrower. Don't let up."

His starter blasted Nidorina at point-blank range with Flamethrower, dousing her in fire. Nidorina screeched and desperately tried to escape, but Pyro had her pinned and he wasn't letting go. Gary swore a few seconds later and recalled her, seeing that there was no chance for his Pokemon to win.

Pyro raised his head and spat a fireball in his victory. Ash smiled at the proud fire type and recalled his starter. He wasn't sure if Pyro had been poisoned or not, but suspended animation would keep him from suffering if he had been intoxicated.

"As much as I hate to say it, you got me there," Gary grumbled. He shrugged through. "I'll hand it to you Ashy boy, you haven't been wasting your time. That was the first time Nidorina lost a one on one."

"You're pretty good, too," Ash returned the compliment. Gary had definitely been one of the toughest opponents he'd faced thus far. "No one's ever beaten Sobek that fast before."

The other boy grinned. "Fair enough. Well, I said I'd show ya to Vermillion. Machop and Nidorina need some healing up anyways. C'mon."

* * *

Vermillion City was wonderful, Ash reflected. The port town was warm and sunny with a perfect view of the ocean. He and Gary had gotten lunch in the Pokemon Center while their teams were healed. Once they finished the decent cafeteria food, they ended up sitting with a group of trainers that were discussing the going-ons around Vermillion. Keeping track of the latest news was important, after all.

One particular newsflash had Ash interested.

"I'm telling you, it beat all three of my Pokemon!" A young girl protested. "I had no trouble beating any of the other ones I caught on my fishing rod, but then that thing jumped out and steamrolled my whole team!"

A couple of other trainers scoffed, but Ash and Gary were both interested in the news. Ash's rival put a question to her. "What were you fighting it with?"

"Goldeen, Mankey, and Voltorb," she said glumly.

Ash frowned. There weren't a whole lot of powerful water types around Vermillion. Pokemon that had the potential to be strong, yes, but a Pokemon that could beat an entire team down all by its lonesome? That was a Pokemon worth looking into.

"Where was this?" Ash asked her.

The girl stared at him. "Why do you ask?"

"It sounds like a strong Pokemon. I want to catch it."

She gaped. "It'll beat you for sure! How many badges do you have?"

Ash shrugged. "Two."

"Then you've got no more chance than me," the girl said. "I've got two badges and you heard what it did to my Pokemon!"

"I'd still like to have a go at it," Ash smirked. "If anything, it'll be a good fight."

She looked dubious, but sighed. "Fine. I'll show you where I saw it. Just beat it up for me."

* * *

After recovering their Pokemon from Nurse Joy, Ash and Gary followed the girl (whose name turned out to be Jess) to a fishing spot on a currently uninhabited dock. She had brought her fishing rod with her and pointed to a spot just a few meters away from the concrete platform. "That's where I caught it. I'll see if it's still around. If it is…"

"If it's still here, it's mine," Ash declared. He didn't care if Gary had come along, but his rival was just here to watch. Gary had plenty of Pokemon- Ash still needed to build his team. This was a good opportunity. He didn't have a water type yet and as far as he was concerned, it sounded like this one had potential.

They watched Jess cast her line into the water. She looked at Ash and eyed the Pikachu on his shoulder with doubt. "Can your mouse really beat this thing?"

"Probably," Ash admitted. Pikachu snickered, but his trainer frowned. "Though I wish you could tell us what it was."

"I didn't get a good look at it," she muttered. "It kept diving in and out of the water. I sent my Goldeen after it, but she got smacked right out in no time flat."

Gary smirked. "Well, at least you'll be in for a surprise. Maybe it's the world's strongest Magikarp."

Jess glared at him indignantly. "Excuse me, no Magikarp can beat my team!"

Her anger almost made her miss the rough jerk on the fishing line. Jess spun back around and pulled hard, wincing at the strength on the other end. "Geez, it's strong!"

"Pikachu, get ready," Ash ordered. Pikachu leapt down from his shoulder and dropped to all fours, glaring at the roiling water.

Suddenly there was an explosion of water like a geyser and whatever was on the end of the line burst out. Ash glimpsed blue skin and a flash of white, then a jet of water was fired at Pikachu. The mouse lunged sideways and dodged the Water Gun, giving Ash a chance to retaliate.

"Thunder Shock!" He shouted. Ash wanted an accurate shot first to figure out what this thing was. Thunderbolt held more power, but Pikachu wasn't good at aiming it jet.

Pikachu fired the bolt of electricity and tagged whatever had burst from the water. Ash heard a grunt, then it fell back into the sea. Jess tugged on the rod to get it back out, but it leapt onto the dock on its own, plenty ready to keep fighting. Apparently, it deemed Pikachu strong enough to face him head-on.

Ash recognized the Pokemon instantly by the spiral pattern on its stomach- Poliwhirl. They were the secondary stage of the Poliwag line and had the potential to evolve into either the mighty Poliwrath or the frivolous Politoed. Ash hadn't thought about catching one before, but the strength this one had displayed- not to mention how quickly it recovered from Thunder Shock- had him wanting it.

Poliwhirl glared at Pikachu and launched a stream of bubbles. Ash recognized it as a Bubble Beam and snapped. "Thunderbolt! Blow them away and then use Quick Stun."

Pikachu let loose a powerful surge of lightning to destroy the Bubble Beam. A second later he darted at Poliwhirl and just missed it- the water type had sidestepped with surprisingly fast reflexes and now had its fist clenched. The limb glowed, then slammed into Pikachu with blistering force.

Ash's eyes widened. He hadn't fought a Pokemon who could use that move yet, but he recognized the Mega Punch from his battle against Brock. The fact that Poliwhirl knew it meant that it had trained hard. That made up his mind for good.

He was catching this Poliwhirl.

Pikachu was stunned temporarily from the Mega Punch, but recovered fast enough to avoid the second one that Poliwhirl attempted to smash into his skull. The mouse leapt back and glared at his opponent, who seemed to be preparing another round of Bubble Beam.

"Quick Stun!" Ash shouted.

It was a good thing Poliwhirl had tried to hit Pikachu with a second Mega Punch- now Pikachu wasn't too far away and was able to crash into Poliwhirl before it knew what was happening. The shock of electricity had it grunting from the pain and it shuddered, unable to fire Bubble Beam again. Ash had no intention of letting it get another hit in.

"Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu blasted Poliwhirl ruthlessly, causing the water type's body to spasm and recoil from the countless volts surging into its body. Ash expected Poliwhirl to fall after that, but he was amazed when it refused to go down. Sheer determination kept it on its feet and he didn't have the heart to deny it a proper end to the battle.

"Volt Tackle."

Poliwhirl was sent flying by the ferocious impact of Pikachu's electrified body. It sailed through the air for a solid three seconds before hitting the ground harshly. Ash saw its body sparking and knew that it was unable to move. He grabbed a pokeball and hurled it at the water type.

The three trainers and Pikachu watched with baited breath as the ball wriggled and shook violently. Even after being crushed by an electric type, Ash couldn't believe how much Poliwhirl utterly refused to surrender. It tried to break free for nearly twenty seconds before finally settling down and allowing the capture device to click close.

He grinned widely. "Got you."

Jess was gaping. "Are you serious?!"

"Not bad, Ashy boy," Gary whistled. "It's got some power to it for sure. Not as strong as Wartortle, but definitely not a weakling. I didn't expect it to know Mega Punch."

Ash picked up the pokeball and smiled. "Me neither, but I can't wait to find out what else it knows. Great work, Pikachu! You've earned your ketchup."

He still had no idea how the rodent could eat so much ketchup and not get a stomach ache, but it made him happy. Pikachu grinned with delight and chirped excitedly before running back over to Ash, returning to his shoulder. Ash pulled an oran berry out of his pocket and offered it to the mouse, allowing him to recover his energy a little.

Jess still seemed unable to wrap her head around the fact that Ash had captured Poliwhirl with just Pikachu. She shook her head. "I can't believe you caught it. Thank you, I guess. I feel better knowing what it was that beat my team."

"Thanks for telling me about it," Ash replied. "I had no idea what water type I was going to end up catching. This one was a great find. I better get it to the Pokemon Center, though. I can't imagine Poliwhirl feels too good after being on the end of Pikachu's Volt Tackle."

She smiled back. "You're welcome. But really, I can't believe how strong your Pikachu is! Poliwhirl beat even my Voltorb, but that was mostly because it isn't very fast yet."

"That little mouse of yours is going to be a beast when it evolves," Gary was grinning widely at the idea. "If it's even close to the strength of Surge's Raichu, I'd hate to be on the receiving end of those electric attacks."

Ash smirked. "Don't jinx yourself. Anyways, I gotta go. You coming, Gary?"

"Nah," he admitted. "I'm gonna head back onto Route 6 and work on Machop."

"Okay. See you," Ash nodded to his rival and then left the port area, intent on healing up the newest addition to his team.

* * *

Ash brought his team outside to the nearest training field once Poliwhirl was healed up. They all looked at him eagerly (with the exception of Eevee) and waited for him to make the announcement.

"We've got a new teammate," Ash told them with a smile. "It's a Poliwhirl. It's pretty strong- it gave Pikachu the run-around before we paralyzed it."

Pyro and Sobek seemed impressed. Pikachu grinned, like he was remembering the battle. The mouse chittered and electricity sparked on his cheek pouches.

As usual, Eevee didn't seem inclined to care in the slightest.

Ash held the pokeball up and prepared to tap the release. "Remember to make a good impression, okay?"

With his team's approval, Ash set Poliwhirl loose. The water type blinked when it found itself surrounded by four other Pokemon and then turned to stare at Ash. He smiled, doing his best to look friendly.

"Hey there, Poliwhirl. Feeling better?" When the water type nodded, he continued talking. "My name is Ash. I'm the one who captured you. This is the rest of my team- Pyro, Pikachu, Sobek, and Eevee."

He gestured to each of his Pokemon in turn and watched as they greeted their newest companion. Well, all of them except for Eevee, who just stared at Poliwhirl like the water type didn't even exist. That seemed to make Poliwhirl a little uncomfortable, so Ash hurried on.

"I'm going to become the strongest Pokemon Master in the world," he declared. "So I'm traveling and training my team to be more powerful than any other. You seem pretty strong. Think you have what it takes to be the best?"

Poliwhirl's eyes glinted and it nodded eagerly. Ash grinned. He liked Poliwhirl's attitude. The water type wasn't complicated- it respected power and sought to become as powerful as it could possibly be. Ash intended to help it reach that goal. He would turn Poliwhirl into one of the greatest water types in the world.

Ash brought out the Pokedex and held it up to Poliwhirl. "This is going to tell me a little bit about you, okay? Just stay there."

Poliwhirl nodded again, so Ash tapped the scan feature on the Pokedex. It recognized Poliwhirl and quickly brought up its information.

 _Poliwhirl, the Tadpole Pokemon. It can live in or out of water. When out of water, it sweats constantly to keep its skin damp. Because of this, Poliwhirl can slip out of an enemy's grip easily in battle._

 _This Poliwhirl is male and knows the moves: Water Gun, Hypnosis, Bubble Beam, Mega Punch, Wake-Up Slap, and Mud Shot. Its ability is Water Absorb, which heals Poliwhirl whenever a water type attack comes into contact with it._

Just as he thought, Poliwhirl knew some great moves. He had obviously trained hard, and Ash was pretty sure he was as powerful as Sobek at the moment. Pikachu had defeated him with a little difficulty, but it hadn't been a close fight like the one Ash had against Gary. He suspected that given a week or two or solid training, Poliwhirl would easily climb in the ranks.

"I think we're going to get along just fine," Ash grinned at Poliwhirl. "So, do you want a nickname?"

Poliwhirl didn't hesitate to nod and that surprised him a little. Most Pokemon at least thought about it, but Ash found that Poliwhirl was very quick in his decisions. He paused to think about possible names for a few minutes, though eventually he decided on what he hoped was a good one.

"How about Douse?" Ash suggested. He was happy to see Poliwhirl think about it for a few seconds before the water type nodded, solidifying the idea. "Douse it is. Welcome to the team."

Douse nodded and turned to the other Pokemon, grunting a greeting. Pyro and Sobek nodded back, Pikachu snickered, and Eevee steadfastly ignored it. Ash inwardly sighed. There would be any change in her attitude anytime soon.

"Anyways, it's just about late afternoon," Ash told them as he looked up at the sky and noted that the sun would only give them a few more hours of daylight. "So I want to get in some good training now. We're going to challenge Lt. Surge tomorrow- the Gym Leader. He uses electric types and from what I heard, the biggest threat is going to be his Raichu."

Pikachu grinned widely at the mention of his evolved form. Ash suspected he just wanted to have a glimpse of what he would look like when he actually did evolve- though where he would find a Thunder Stone Ash hadn't the foggiest idea. Regardless, the rest of his team (with the exception of Eevee) looked pumped up, so Ash grinned and clenched his fist.

"Alright, let's get to training! Pyro, I want you working with Douse. Figure out where he is and get him ready for our training sessions. Pikachu, you and Sobek get to sparring. I want you to work on evasion- Sobek, try to catch him. Surge's electric types will be just as fast- faster, maybe. You've got to be able to catch them from underground. I'll alternate between you guys to check on your progress. Sound good?"

His team cheered and Ash nodded. "Then spread out and get started."

* * *

A few hours later and Ash was both nervous and excited. The nervousness was a result of watching countless trainers run to the Pokemon Center after getting destroyed by Lt. Surge. The Gym Leader was pulling out all the stops and apparently he hadn't given out a badge in four weeks. Ash was afraid that he hadn't trained hard enough to win, but his confidence was boosted by the highlight of the night.

He was excited because their training had been quite productive- Pyro's Flamethrower was looking better and Ash had gotten a good idea of how Douse fought. The Poliwhirl was in a great place development wise. Ash thought about using the Scald TM the Misty had given him on Douse, but he decided against it- for now. Once he was sure that Douse had mastered all of the current moves he knew, then he would get Scald.

Aside from that, Pikachu was getting better at aiming Thunderbolt. Rather than only being able to blast whatever happened to be in front of him, he was starting to get the hang of actually picking out a target from a distance. There were still some accuracy problems, but Ash thought that the mouse would have it down within a couple of weeks.

Sobek had made the most progress. His aggression and agitation were rising substantially as the training went on. He was close- _so close_ \- to evolving. It was at the point that Ash decided to pull out all the stops and train for longer than normal. He wanted Sobek to fight the others and maybe the adrenaline rush would be enough to trigger the evolution that could save him in the battle against Surge.

Pikachu had been worn down by his earlier sparring with the croc and was currently eating beside the group's most disagreeable member. Eevee was watching with Ash and Pikachu while she ate, though she avoided all contact with them and the others and simply stared with boredom when she wasn't taking a bite of Pokemon food.

Sobek, Pyro, and Douse were fighting in a three-way. Ash had pit them against each other in the hope that more competition would increase the odds of the Sandile evolving tonight.

"That's it, Sobek!" Ash encouraged the croc as he pulled off a Thunder Fang on Douse. Sobek gnashed his teeth into the Poliwhirl, but Douse smacked him off with a Wake-Up Slap. The Sandile recoiled with a hiss from the super effective move and dug underground. Pyro suddenly lunged at Douse in a Dragon Rush and met a Mega Punch head-on. The pair heaved against each other for a few seconds before Pyro's greater strength forced his opponent back.

Douse bounced off the ground and landed upright again, then fired a Bubble Beam at the fire type. Pyro's claws glowed and he slashed the attack apart, though a few of the bubbles exploded and dealt him some damage. The Charmeleon grinned at his success, but roared when Sobek exploded from the ground and snapped on his arm with a Crunch. Pyro snarled and bit right back with a Fire Fang, making the croc hiss. The two fighting Pokemon growled furiously and refused to let go until they were suddenly blasted apart by a Water Gun from Douse.

Sobek got the worst of it and hit the ground with a furious hiss. He struggled to his feet, breathing more heavily than Pyro because of his lesser stamina. Douse fired another Water Gun at Sobek and the croc snapped a Thunder Fang into it. The shock traveled up the stream of liquid and mildly shocked Douse, but Sobek took more damage from his opponent and nearly collapsed.

Ash bit his lip. This was bordering the limits of what he was willing to do in training. Too much longer and Sobek would faint. He just wasn't as powerful as the evolved Pokemon that he sparred with, but Ash could see that he was ready to evolve. He was so _infuriatingly_ _close_ …

The ground type steadied himself and growled challengingly at Douse. The Poliwhirl blinked, apparently uncertain if another attack was a good idea. Sobek looked pretty banged up. Douse glanced at Ash and grunted questioningly. Ash bit his lip and looked over the ground type carefully. The Sandile's eyes still held that familiar fire, no matter how tired he was.

One more attack. If Sobek didn't evolve, Ash would stop for the night.

"Last move," Ash ordered finally. "Pyro, back off. Douse, Sobek, don't hold back."

The Charmeleon went back to Ash and stood beside Pikachu and Eevee as Douse cracked his knuckles and gave Sobek a firm look. The Sandile lashed his short tail and hissed as fiercely as he could.

Douse lunged and clenched his fist, preparing a Mega Punch. Sobek awaited him with open jaws, snarling with the aggression his breed was known for. Lightning crackled along his fangs. Ash watched as Douse leaped into the air and brought his fist down on the Sandile just as Sobek reared up to counter with Thunder Fang.

But Sobek aimed too high and took the Mega Punch right in the stomach. The Sandile went flying and hit the ground with a harsh thud that made even Eevee wince. Ash knew that was it, reaching for Sobek's pokeball a moment before he heard the croc roar and suddenly the dark of evening fled from a blinding light.

They watched, transfixed, as Sobek's body and tail doubled in length. His back legs grew substantially and allowed him to rear up into a bipedal stance. Sobek's front limbs lengthened into arms with large claws and hands, while his jaws grew even stronger. When the light finally faded, Sobek opened his fanged maw and let out a roar, reveling in his newfound power.

Ash grinned in delight. The Krokorok in front of him was more than he could have hoped for. Sobek stood as tall as Pyro and had all the raw power he so desperately needed to keep up with his evolved team mates. Now he had caught up with them and Sobek knew it.

The croc looked his new body over and hissed with satisfaction. He flexed his claws, making a few experimental swipes in the air. Sobek awkwardly tried to walk, but receded to all fours when he nearly tripped. He growled in annoyance- apparently walking in a bipedal fashion took some practice after spending all his time walking on all fours.

Ash walked over to him, standing a few meters away. Sobek looked up at him as his trainer held his hand out. "C'mon, Sobek. Try and walk over here."

The Krokorok nodded and unsteadily rose to both feet. He took a hesitant step and wobbled for a moment, then got his balance and took another step. Then a third. A few steps later and he had reached Ash, who set his hand at the corner of Sobek's jaw and scratched the sand-colored scales there. Sobek's throat rumbled in a pleased sound. Ash grinned. His friend still liked that spot.

Once Ash and Sobek had made contact, the rest of the team came over to inspect their friend for themselves. Pyro and Sobek grinned at each other with sharp fangs. Their profiles were surprisingly similar now and Ash could tell they were just waiting for a chance to have a go at their team mate. He would be lying if he said he didn't want to see them spar.

Pikachu jumped onto Sobek's head and snickered as the croc snapped at him in annoyance. But there was no true aggression in the motion, which was proven by the ground type's amused smirk. Douse walked over and made a happy grunt, which Sobek returned with a growl. Eevee simply padded over to get a brief whiff of the ground type's new scent, then sat back down and resumed her bored stare.

Sobek looked at Ash, who nodded approvingly. "You look amazing, buddy. I think Surge and his electric types are in for a nasty surprise."

The Krokorok bared his fangs in vicious delight. Ash mirrored it with a wild grin. He wanted to let his newly evolved friend have a battle before Surge so he hand an idea of how to act. Glancing at Pyro, he deemed the Charmeleon to have enough strength for a short battle.

Besides, the two reptiles were eyeing each other aggressively. Ash figured letting them beat the snot out of each other early on would help curb that.

"Pyro, Sobek, care for one last fight?" Ash asked.

The pair of them growled eagerly, getting in their team mate's face and hissing. Ash smirked and backed off with the rest of his Pokemon. He watched the pair of them snarl a moment longer before stating clearly.

"Begin."

* * *

Ash looked up at the Vermillion Gym the next day. He had slept in a bit late because they stayed up longer than normal for training, but Sobek's evolution was more than worth it. Now he felt like he had a fighting chance. Surge's winning streak would be over once he left this place.

He walked into the gym and found that two trainers in military uniforms were guarding the entrance to the battlefield. Ash frowned. "I'm here for a battle."

One of them eyed him with a sneer. "How many badges do you have, little baby?"

"Two," his eyes narrowed.

The other scoffed, but before he could say anything, the doors behind the two trainers burst open and a kid ran out carrying a Rattata that had clearly been annihilated. Ash blinked as the kid ran past him, bawling his eyes out. Both of the guards snickered after the defeated trainer and one of them nodded to Ash. "Sure you want to go through the same punishment that baby went through? Surge doesn't go easy on anyone, even if they are chumps. Trainers with two badges aren't good enough for him."

Ash glared at the trainer. "Why's that? Is Surge too scared of getting wiped out by a new trainer?"

Both of the trainer guards glared right back at him and looked so furious that Ash thought for a moment they might actually attack. But then there was a roaring laugh and a massive figure that positively dwarfed Ash pushed past the doors and leered down at him.

"Those are some fighting words, punk!" Lt. Surge boomed. The man grinned maliciously and Ash saw that a huge Raichu was on his shoulder- the same place where Pikachu was usually on his. Raichu had the same dark grin that its trainer did, but Ash didn't back down. He glared at the Gym Leader and his ace.

"That's why I came here," Ash declared. "My name is Ash. I want a gym battle."

Surge sneered. "Huh, a baby with fangs. Don't see those too often. Fine, I'll wipe you out. Then I'm going fishing. Raichu has more trouble blasting Gyarados than these weaklings- and they have a type disadvantage!"

Ash didn't even want to imagine Surge fishing for Gyarados- and for fun it seemed- when he was right about to fight him. He did his best to stand up tall, but it was a pathetic effort compared to Surge's gigantic build. Still, the Gym Leader jerked his head and grunted. "Come on, then. Let's get this over with."

They walked into the main room and Ash saw that the battlefield was fairly plain. He supposed that was to be expected. Surge appeared to be one that didn't need extravagance.

A third gym trainer that had apparently judged the last battle smirked at Ash and began his announcements. "This official gym battle will now get underway! Both trainers will use four Pokemon and the battle will end when all of either side's team is unable to battle. Furthermore, there will be no substitutions."

Surge pulled a pokeball off his belt and tapped the release, causing a Pikachu to appear on the field. Ash knew exactly what he was going to do. If he wanted a chance against

Sobek appeared on the field with an aggressive hiss. He locked his eyes on the Pikachu and bared his fangs, ready to unleash his fury upon the electric type.

To the ground type's credit, Surge looked surprised. "Huh. What do you know? This might actually be fun. Alright little baby, you get the first move."

The gym trainer slashed his hand down. "Begin!"

Ash did not hesitate. "Sobek, Crunch!"

Sobek lunged at the Pikachu and snapped at it viciously. The mouse leapt back and skittered away from its attacker as Sobek continued to sink his teeth into it. Pikachu was obviously faster than the Krokorok, but that didn't stop the ground type.

Surge snorted. "Quick Slam."

Pikachu dodged another bite from Sobek and then suddenly darted forward. It put all the power in its little body to deliver a fierce Slam, strengthened by the increased speed from Quick Attack. The force was enough to push Sobek back a few feet, but he snarled and managed to snap his teeth into Pikachu's tail before it could dart away. The mouse squealed in pain and wriggled in an effort to get away.

"Throw it, Sobek! Use Dig!"

Sobek spun and threw Pikachu harshly across the field, making the electric type smack into the dirt. While Pikachu was stunned, the ground type quickly dug into the battlefield and disappeared.

Surge muttered something under his breath. "Agility. Keep it guessing. When it comes out, bash it's pretty head with Iron Tail."

Pikachu recovered and began to blur around the field with such speed that Ash had trouble keeping his eyes on it. As much as he hated to admit it, Surge's Pikachu was faster than his, though it didn't seem to have as much power. That had him worried considering that this electric type was evidently weaker than the massive Raichu still sitting beside Surge.

It was a few seconds before Sobek erupted from the ground and tried to slash at Pikachu with his claws, but the mouse easily darted around him and then leaped up. Its tail glowed silver and then it flipped, smashing the Iron Tail into Sobek's head. The Krokorok roared, but it was from fury more than pain. Sobek spun around and snapped at Pikachu aggressively, but the mouse managed to escape by a hair's breadth.

Ash gritted his teeth. Pikachu was too fast for Sobek to catch outright. The mouse kept blurring around him and dealing small hits, and even though that was a small amount of damage, it was still damage that Sobek would carry on into the next battle when he beat Pikachu. When, not if. Ash refused to believe that the mouse had any chance of defeating Sobek- for one, the Krokorok's pride would not allow him to fall to such an adversary right after evolving.

Surge apparently realized that Pikachu wasn't doing enough damage and decided to up the ante. "Double Edge."

Pikachu put some distance between itself and Sobek before charging the ground type, who snarled a challenge. Ash really didn't want him to take a Double Edge, but a plan formed in his mind as he considered it. He decided to go for it.

"Take it!" Ash shouted.

Sobek dug his claws into the ground and braced himself just in time for Pikachu to smash recklessly into him. This time the force was enough to knock the wind out of Sobek, but Pikachu suffered as well- the recoil of Double Edge took effect quickly. Ash jumped at the chance. "Assurance!"

The Krokorok spun around and slammed his powerful tail into the electric type, sending it flying away with a cry of pain. Ash grinned at the obvious success. Assurance doubled in power if the opponent had taken damage shortly before the attack was executed. The recoil of Double Edge served that purpose well.

Surge was grinning. "Not bad, kid! Take a hit to return a bigger one, eh? You've got some balls!"

Ash smirked and issued his next command. "Ant Lion!"

Sobek dove underground again and created a huge pit of sand in the middle of the field, right below Pikachu's feet. The electric type had just pulled itself together after getting hit by Assurance, but quickly found the ground at its feet sucking it down.

"Double Team!" Surge ordered. "Agility. Go for Double Edge when it pops up."

Ash smiled as he watched Pikachu create multiple copies of itself, but the mouse was unable to move properly on the quicksand. Double Team was no good as a defense against Sobek- his sensitive snout would detect the real Pikachu's location quickly, seeing as the copies were only illusions with no real mass. Pikachu's struggled only allowed the croc to home in on it faster.

"Finish it, Sobek," Ash said clearly. "Crunch."

The ground beneath Pikachu exploded as Sobek burst out of the sand and snapped his huge teeth into the electric type. Pikachu squealed and tried to escape, but Sobek had a strong grip on it this time and shook it ruthlessly for several seconds. When Pikachu stopped resisting, the ground type hurled it away and watched with satisfaction as his prey hit the field and didn't get up.

One down, three to go.

Surge recalled Pikachu and smirked. "That overgrown lizard of yours has got some good power. Let's see if it can last."

The next Pokemon was a Magneton. All three of the individual Magnemite that made up its body sparked and locked their three eyes onto Sobek, who hissed at the steel type. He was even more fired up than before and Ash could see a faint crimson in his eyes- Moxie had activated. Ash watched the croc warily. As a Sandile, Sobek had slipped into Moxie only a few times, but when he did he became more aggressive than normal in battle. Frequently, Ash recalled him when Moxie activated so that he wouldn't take things too far.

As a Krokorok, Sobek was far more aggressive and Ash had no idea what to expect from him now that Moxie had activated.

Surge apparently hadn't noticed though, and began to issue his orders. "Metal Sound, then Flash Cannon. Keep your distance."

Magneton sparked and then suddenly blasted the whole field with the horrible sound of shrieking metal. Ash threw his hands over his ears and gnashed his teeth, feeling his spine crawl. On the field, Sobek was roaring furiously and used Dig before Ash could say anything. Even if he hadn't commanded Sobek to do that, at least he was now out of Flash Cannon's line of sight.

"Magnet Bomb," Surge grinned. "Blow the field up!"

Ash watched as Magneton formed several large silver spheres and spun to launch them over the battlefield. A moment later, they all exploded and caused the ground to erupt. He heard Sobek snarl and realized that the croc had been hit, but he didn't even get to speak before Sobek exploded from the ground and snapped at Magneton with a maw of flames.

The Fire Fang made contact as Sobek's jaws clamped onto Magneton. Surge's Pokemon sparked frantically and attempted to escape, but the Krokorok was furious from battle lust and the adrenaline of Moxie. Sobek generated another surge of flames in his mouth that exploded on Magneton and shook it just as ruthlessly as he had Pikachu.

Magneton actually made a couple of Magnet Bombs to make Sobek let go, but even that wasn't enough to deter the croc. Sobek's mouth blazed with more fire and Ash flinched when he heard a crack. It sounded like Magneton's steel body was beginning to get dangerously weak under the intense heat and Sobek's powerful jaws.

Surge apparently thought the same because he recalled Magneton a second later. He frowned at Sobek and watched as the ground type's eyes flared from his second adrenaline boost in this battle. The Gym Leader's eyes widened. "Moxie?"

Sobek roared angrily. He wanted to keep fighting and Ash knew there would be no stopping him. Across the field, even Raichu was flicking its tail with unease. Surge sent out his third Pokemon- a Voltorb.

The electric type didn't even get to spark before Sobek lunged at it, completely disregarding the fact that Ash hadn't even given a command. Ash opened his mouth to protest the croc's actions when Surge barked. "Explosion!"

Ash flung his arms over his face as a flare of heat and light signaled the execution of Explosion, followed by a concussive blast that demolished the already damaged battlefield. He heard Sobek roar, but there was pain in his voice now and then silence. When the intense light faded, Ash looked up and sighed.

Sobek was down from Voltorb's sacrificial attack, but it was just as well. Apparently, he wasn't skilled enough to handle Moxie yet. Ash would remember that- it disturbed him how much Sobek had lost himself in the adrenaline rush of his own Ability. He returned the Krokorok to his pokeball and looked at it with a smile. "You did great, buddy. Take a break. You've earned that."

Surge recalled Voltorb and scowled at Ash. "I don't know where you got your hands on that Krokorok, but it obviously isn't ready to use Moxie. Remember that."

His rough words made Ash angry, but he refused to let Surge get to him. Picking out his second pokeball, Ash got ready for what was probably going to be the toughest fight thus far.

Pikachu appeared from his pokeball as Surge knelt beside Raichu. The Gym Leader scratched Raichu's ears and jerked his thumb at the smaller electric mouse. "Shock them stupid."

Raichu sniggered eagerly and rushed onto the battlefield. Its cheek pouches sparked with electricity and Ash braced himself- this was the Pokemon that destroyed all others when the rest of Surge's team failed. It had defeated even Gary. He wouldn't fall to the same opponent.

"Quick Attack!" Ash shouted. "Evade whatever it uses."

Pikachu lunged towards Raichu, darting from side to side in order to make himself a more difficult target. Raichu continued to smirk as it awaited Pikachu, seemingly unwilling to move. Then a second before Pikachu would have crashed into it, the larger electric mouse blurred away.

Ash's eyes widened as Raichu suddenly appeared behind Pikachu and leaped onto it, crushing the smaller electric type with a Body Slam. Pikachu had the breath knocked out of him and could only lay there, stunned, as Raichu brought its foot back and delivered a horrifyingly powerful Mega Kick.

Pikachu skidded across the field harshly, but pulled himself to his feet. He was dazed from the impact and glared at the snickering Raichu. Ash bit his lip. He knew Raichu would be strong, but that was just ridiculous. The electric type could move with blistering speed and deliver ferociously powerful hits in no time flat. As it was, he was pretty sure Pikachu could only take one more hit from the beast of a mouse before he would be defeated.

"Volt Tackle!" Ash commanded desperately. It wouldn't cause as much damage against Raichu since it was an electric type move, but the move had more raw power than any of Pikachu's other attacks. It would do the most damage before Raichu defeated its opponent.

Surge grinned widely. "Your mouse can use that too, eh? Good! Let's return the favor, Raichu."

Raichu's grin matched its trainer's. As Pikachu cloaked himself in electricity and began to rush his opponent, Raichu mirrored him. However, Ash realized that Raichu's Volt Tackle was far more concentrated and thus held a lot more power. His heart sank when he realized there could be only one outcome.

The two Volt Tackles collided, but Raichu forced Pikachu back not a second after the impact was made. Pikachu was sent flying and crashed into the ground with enough force to make a crater below his body. Ash recalled him into his pokeball- there was no doubt that Pikachu was unconscious after taking a hit like that.

Raichu shook itself as the recoil took effect, but it didn't seem tired at all. Surge smirked. "Your baby mouse still has a lot of work to do. That was one of the sloppiest Volt Tackles I've ever seen. Wouldn't you agree, Raichu?"

The huge mouse sniggered and nodded. Ash glared at the electric type and picked out his third pokeball. Douse appeared and cracked his knuckles, fixing his gaze on the massive Raichu on the other side of the field.

Surge sneered. "Wow, a fish? Really? Raichu, get to cooking."

Raichu rubbed its paws together and sparked again. Ash wasn't about to let it get away with whatever electrical horrors it had in mind. "Douse, use Mud Shot."

Douse spat a blast of mud, which Raichu dodged with contemptuous ease. Ash noticed that it wasn't quite as fast as before though, and figured it was because of the recoil from Volt Tackle. He realized that Raichu was a bit of a glass cannon. It could deal out devastating amounts of damage with incredible speed, but receiving even a mild injury would slow it up. There was no way Raichu would go down easily, but if Ash could slow it down, he might have a chance.

"Bubble Beam!" Ash commanded. "Spread it over the field. Don't let it get away."

He watched as the Poliwhirl unleashed a stream of large bubbles across the battlefield, caging Raichu on Surge's side. Raichu blasted them away with a bolt of lightning, but it gave Ash a few seconds to come up with a strategy. "Blast it with Water Gun. Short bursts- if you fire a stream, it can still shock you."

Douse grunted and began to carry out his orders. He fired quick shot of Water Gun, attempting to snipe Raichu before it could launch its own attack. The first couple of shots actually hit the mouse, but the mouse started running again before long and dodged the rest. It seemed annoyed that its fur was wet and began to zig zag as it ran, closing the distance to Douse.

Ash saw Raichu leap into the air to deliver a Body Slam and saw his chance. "Avoid it, then Mega Punch!"

As Raichu came down, Douse sidestepped it the same way he had when he battled Pikachu the day before. Clenching his fist, the Poliwhirl waited for Raichu to hit the ground and then smashed Mega Punch right into the electric type's face. Raichu yowled and went flying, but did a flip and recovered its balance easily.

"Mud Shot!" Ash followed up quickly. "Water Gun. Keep it at a distance."

Douse struck again with a burst of mud, which only grazed Raichu before it landed on the field and started to run again. His Water Gun bursts missed their mark though, as the mouse slipped into Agility and evaded them.

"C'mon Raichu, quit playing about," Surge yawned. "Fry it."

Ash didn't like the sound of that. "Fire Mud Shot repeatedly!"

As Douse moved to follow his commands, Raichu's cheeks sparked and the air was suddenly charged with ozone. It was the only hint Ash had of what was coming before an intense beam of electricity was fired at Douse. The flash of energy blinded Ash and he was forced to close his eyes as the sound of an explosion rang out.

When he opened his eyes, he found Douse's smoking form lying unconscious on the ground. Ash sighed and recalled him. He had no idea what kind of attack Raichu had used, but he suspected it was probably Charge Beam. He wasn't aware of any other move that was remotely like that.

Surge smirked. "Three down, kid. Fork over number four so I can go get my lunch."

Ash grabbed Pyro's pokeball and hit the release, unleashing the Charmeleon upon the already ravaged battlefield. Pyro spat a fireball and glared at Raichu, who glared right back. The mouse was finally looking tired and Ash was pretty sure it wanted to end the fight as soon as possible. Ash intended to do just that- but not in the way Raichu would prefer.

"Ember," he ordered. "Keep moving as you attack. If you stay in one spot, it'll destroy you."

Pyro flicked his tail in acknowledgement and began his assault. He started to run to the right, spitting small flames at Raichu as he went. The mouse began to run in the opposite direction and dodged easily until it got to the halfway point on the field, where it skidded to a stop at its trainer's command.

"Volt Tackle," Surge told his Pokemon. "Wrap this up."

Raichu began to rush forward, cloaked in the same deadly charge that it had defeated Pikachu with. Ash acted on impulse and shouted. "Smokescreen!"

Pyro ceased the shots of fire and suddenly blew out a mass of oily black smoke. It spread quickly, covering his position just seconds before Raichu dove into the dark haze and vanished. Ash tensed, waiting for the sound of an impact. He wasn't sure if Pyro had been quick enough to evade Volt Tackle.

A screech suddenly broke the tense silence and Ash's eyes widened as Raichu was sent flying out of the smoke cloud. Pyro lunged after it, his claws still glowing bright from the impromptu Slash.

"Flamethrower!" Ash commanded.

The Charmeleon acted instantly and spat a fireball at Raichu while it was still airborne. Ash grinned with satisfaction as the attack made contact, damaging the electric mouse further. Across the field, Surge finally started to look a little nervous.

"Thunder!" Surge barked. "Fry that lizard!"

"Dragon Rush!" Ash yelled, desperate to keep up the pressure before Surge's Pokemon could use the ridiculously powerful electric attack. "Don't let it use Thunder!"

Raichu's cheeks sparked as it began to charge up a huge amount of electricity. Pyro was still running at it and propelled himself off the ground. His eyes narrowed to slits and made contact with Raichu's- the mouse froze for a crucial split second under the intimidating appearance of the dragon type move.

Raichu's foot had just touched the ground when Pyro barreled into it, carrying the electric type off its feet once again before crushing it into the wall. The Charmeleon backed off quickly and waited for any retaliation with a snarl on his face. Ash didn't move until he saw Raichu lying on the ground. A broad grin broke out on his face as Pyro spat a fireball into the air in victory.

Surge's jaw dropped. "Wha- wait, I lost? To a kid?"

Apparently, the referee was just as stunned because he completely forgot to call the match. Pyro ran over to Ash and bumped his head into the boy's arm, enticing Ash to scratch the fire lizard's warm scales. He was ecstatic- they had beaten Surge! Not even the Gym Leader's monstrous Raichu was able to stop them!

"Good job, buddy!" Ash exclaimed as he scratched Pyro's chin. "You were great."

Pyro made a delighted rumble and waved his tail again. The two of them looked up as Surge walked over with Raichu cradled in one of his huge arms. Ash realized the electric mouse was awake, though it looked pretty tired.

Rather than the scowl Ash expected, Surge was grinning widely. "Looks like you know how to use those fangs of yours, kid! That was the most fun I've had in weeks. Good job."

Raichu snickered tiredly. Ash wasn't sure what to make of that, but apparently Raichu liked fights that were worth its time- even if it lost. He decided he could respect that. He felt the same way about battles.

Surge dug his spare hand into his pocket and pulled out a badge. "This is the Thunder Badge. Not a whole lot of trainers have gotten this one yet. The League told me to get rougher with all the babies since I gotta hand out these damn tickets with the badge."

Ash blinked when Surge pulled a scrap of paper from the same pocket and passed it to him. He frowned. "What's that?"

"A ticket for the St. Anne cruise liner," the Gym Leader told him. "It's a big boat for trainers and rich people. The ship is scheduled to stop here in Vermillion about three months from now in July- that ticket will let you hop on board for a five day trip to Cinnabar Island. I'd take advantage of it, kid. They have tournaments on the boat that give out rare items and Pokemon as prizes."

That got Ash excited. He didn't really need a vacation, but the idea of a tournament on a huge boat sounded like fun to him.

Surge smirked at the boy's enthusiasm. "These tickets are the whole reason I was told by the League to start ripping the babies apart. Apparently only the best trainers are allowed onboard. Personally I don't think real trainers need something like that to get them working hard, but whatever. You got lucky being the first to beat me since I was given the order to let loose- that ticket there is for first class. Every other baby that beats me after this is gonna get some cheap room."

"Thanks!" Ash grinned.

"You earned it, I reckon," Surge shrugged. "Say, how about we grab some grub at the Pokemon Center? Raichu needs a checkup and I reckon your Pokemon do too."

* * *

They were definitely a sight that attracted attention- Ash eating at a table in the Pokemon Center across from Surge, who had gotten three burgers and put each of them down in something like three bites. Most of the trainers watching seemed to be shocked that Surge was begin civil- after all, most of them had been thoroughly steamrolled by the electric type Gym Leader.

"Ah!" Surge grinned after downing the last of his drink. "Food always hits the spot after a good battle, eh?"

"Definitely," Ash agreed. He was still eating, but he didn't mind talking to Surge. The Gym Leader was surprisingly friendly despite being defeated by Ash. He suspected it was because Surge respected strength, and the boy had proven he was strong enough to stand up for himself.

"Right," the Gym Leader looked at Ash with a smirk. "I'll be frank with you- you've got a lot of potential, kid. Your Krokorok needs a lot of work with Moxie, your Pikachu's Volt Tackle is second-rate and that Poliwhirl is just a minnow, but they've got the makings of something good. I didn't get to see too much of your Charmeleon, so I'll bet it's about the same. Take my advice on this- challenge yourself. Don't go back to swimming with bottom feeders and put those fangs of yours to good use."

Ash nodded. "I know. I caught Poliwhirl yesterday and Krokorok actually just evolved last night. We'll have to practice Moxie on the trainers we meet on the road. I'm not really sure how to help Pikachu with Volt Tackle, though. I had enough trouble teaching it to him."

"You're a new trainer, right?" Surge scratched his chin thoughtfully. "How long you been training?"

"Two months, give or take a week."

"Huh. I'm actually amazed you made any progress with Volt Tackle at all," Surge remarked. "That's not an easy move to teach. Then again, you only just got the rough concept of it down. It's by no means anywhere close to perfected. Your Pikachu uses up too much electricity on it. It's excessive and not concentrated enough. Right now, I'd say it's halfway between a Wild Charge and Volt Tackle. Work on his control whenever you can."

Ash nodded again. He was soaking up whatever information Surge gave him. The man was and expert on electric types- any advice he offered was priceless in regards to training Pikachu. Ash wanted Pikachu to reach his maximum potential."

"I dunno much about Krokorok or Poliwhirl, or Charmeleon for that matter," the Gym Leader shrugged. "But as far as Pikachu goes, I can help you out a good bit. Try teaching him Electro Ball. It's not overwhelmingly strong, but it'll teach him how to control and concentrate electricity better. He needs work on his speed as well, so here's a simple training regime- teach the baby mouse Agility, then have him run back and forth about a hundred meters for an hour or so. He won't like it, but he'll thank you for it later."

Ash smiled at that. He could imagine the pranks he would receive for putting Pikachu through exercises like that. The mouse did need work on his speed, though, and Surge's advice sounded legitimate to him. "Thank you. I really appreciate it."

"If you want to show me your appreciation, come back for a rematch after you train all your little baby Pokemon into an actual fighting force," Surge grinned fiendishly. "My real team needs a good workout and you fit the bill. Plus I want your mouse to fight Raichu once it evolves- that's something I'd really like to see."

That turned his smile into a fierce grin. Surge's battle-lust was infectious. "You're on."

"Good!" The Gym Leader roared in laughter. He stood up and held his hand out. "Well, I gotta get back to the gym. My break is over and I've got more asses to kick. See you kid. Don't get soft."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ash replied, shaking Surge's hand before the huge man strode off.

* * *

"Ash, I'm so proud of you!" Delia Ketchum practically squealed on the other end of the PokeNav. Ash had just told her about his victory at the Vermillion Gym and she was near ecstatic from the news. He'd kept his promise since Cerulean City to stay in touch with his mother every week or so. That helped to assure her of his safety and kept Ash from ending up on the receiving end of his mother's anger should her knowledge of his wellbeing be neglected.

He smiled back at her through the video phone. "Thanks. I caught a Poliwhirl out here too- his name is Douse. Oh, and Sobek evolved!"

"It sounds like you're doing very well," she said happily. "So where do you think you'll be going next? There are still a few months before the St. Anne arrives in Vermillion. What are your plans?"

Ash frowned slightly. "I'm not really sure. I definitely plan on going to Celadon and defeating Erika- it sounds like she's going to be easy compared to Surge. I might try to drop by Fuchsia as well if I have time. But I need to have a plan to face Sabrina after that. She's…well, I've heard that she's one of the most powerful Gym Leaders in Kanto. Her psychic types are crazy strong. I'm sure Sobek can probably beat one of her Pokemon, but there's no way he can handle all three by himself."

"Yes, I've heard that as well," Delia murmured. She was quiet for a moment, then her face seemed to clear. "Have you thought about catching a ghost type? Psychics are very prone to damage from ghost type attacks."

"Ghost types aren't exactly common," he replied. "I don't even know where to go looking for one."

"Hmm…Oh! I remember Professor Oak saying that there are ghost types in Lavender Town!" His mother exclaimed. That's not too far from Vermillion, either! Maybe you should go there before heading to Celadon. It would give you more time to train it."

Ash thought about it. "Lavender Town, huh? I'll check it out. Thanks, mom."

Delia smiled. "Of course, dear. Good luck, and stay safe!"

"I will. Goodbye," he said before ending the call and leaving the video phone for the next trainer to use.

Ash went to his room in the Pokemon Center. It was too late in the day to leave now and frankly he wanted a break before setting out for his next destination. He also needed to plan out the next stage of training for his Pokemon. He didn't want to just hit the road with no goals in mind for his team.

Surge had given him a good plan for Pikachu, so Ash considered the electric type's training set for the time being. Pyro needed to perfect Flamethrower and both of his dragon type moves. Ash still had no idea why they were so ridiculously hard to learn. No matter how hard Pyro tried, he just could not seem to harness the correct type of energy necessary to execute them. He knew dragon type moves were notoriously difficult to learn, but this was absurd.

Ash wanted to try and teach Pyro Mega Punch. He knew that the Charmeleon line could learn it, and he hoped that Douse could provide a good example for Pyro to learn. He just wanted Pyro to have a little extra variation. In the instance that Slash wouldn't work, Mega Punch would give him the option of brute force.

Sobek was the next order of business. Now that he had evolved, Ash intended to get him TMs as soon as possible, but until then, he wanted to work on Moxie. It had been made blatantly clear in the battle with Surge that Sobek was unable to control his aggression once the ability activated. He needed to learn how to maintain his composure- that would make him a more effective fighter.

As for Douse, Ash was going to use the Scald TM on him soon. He wanted to try and work on Hydro Pump as well. The water type move was insanely powerful and would probably take them weeks, if not months to master, but Ash had faith that the Poliwhirl could do it. Douse was just as dedicated to training as the rest of his team. If anyone could do it, he could.

Eevee was Eevee. Ash would simply continue to show her kindness and make sure she was healthy. Her aggression was swiftly becoming a thing of the past, though her social skills were still nonexistent. He was patient- Eevee would become friendlier in time. At least, he hoped she would.

Ash sat down on the bed and took out the pokeballs containing his five friends. One by one, he set them all loose in his room, watching as they all gave him their attention. He smiled at the group.

"You guys were amazing today. Seriously, I'm really proud of you all. We were the first team to beat Surge in over a month. That Raichu of his destroyed every other trainer that came his way."

Pyro rumbled happily at the praise. Pikachu snickered and Douse bounced cheerily. Eevee's glare was mildly less frosty, but it wasn't quite friendly either. Ash didn't mind. She was getting better- he was sure of that.

Sobek seemed annoyed and Ash moved to reassure him. "Sobek, you fought so hard today. You should be proud. You beat two of Surge's team and forced him to sacrifice a third. We couldn't have won without you."

That seemed to placate the disgruntled Krokorok, because he grinned toothily and nodded. Ash scratched the ground type's jaw and then looked at all the others. "Alright guys, we're going to sleep now. Then tomorrow, we'll start traveling towards Lavender Town. We're going to try and add a ghost type to the team."

The news had mixed results. Pyro and Sobek seemed fine with it. Pikachu looked curious, if the twitching of his ears was anything to go by. Douse looked slightly nervous and Eevee just didn't care.

Ash internally shrugged. "Anyways, that's our next destination. We'll be training hard along the way, so rest up!"

His Pokemon nodded and then moved to settle in their various places around the room. Pikachu curled up on his trainer's stomach when Ash lay down and Pyro stretched out on the floor, resting his burning tail on his fireproof blanket. Sobek mirrored Pyro and Ash smirked a little at how similar they were despite their rivalry. Douse sprawled out on his back on the floor, his round body rising up and down as he breathed. Eevee jumped onto the end of the bed and curled up, her back to Ash and the others.

Ash looked over his team one more time before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

* * *

 **A/N. Alright, here's the edited version of chapter five. Sorry it's a little late getting out, but I had a lot of work to do this week and little time to write (or rest for that matter). These are easily the biggest chapters I've written and editing all the minor typos in them takes a while. Anyways, on to the review responses:**

 **Pikachu564: Yes good, good. This fiction is going way better than I thought it would :D Keep it up and don't stop. Two question: Will Ash have a variety of pokemon from different regions like with Sandile and will Ash be alone through his Journey or will he find someone to travel with?**

 **-I'm glad it's meeting your expectations. In answer to your first question, Ash will get more Pokemon from different regions. As for a traveling partner, he may eventually have one, but that won't be for a while yet.**

 **Uber Ghidorah: For when Ash gets a water type, my picks for it are Krabby, Goldeen, or Marill. For Krabby, it and it's evolution are just all around awesome, especially in the anime. Goldeen, it not only has access to Drill Run, as Misty used it, but it also can have the ability Lightningrod, which nullifies one of it's two weakness, and it can learn the types to counter the other one, such as Megahorn, Poison Jab, Ice Beam, and Bounce. As for Marill, it also as a wide variety of moves at it's disposal to deal with weaknesses, is a Water/Fairy type, and has abilities that either nullify it's Grass weakness, or turn it into a powerhouse with moves to back it up.** **Also, if Pyro does get Mega Evolution, would you use X or hopefully Y?**

 **-As I think you'll find in this chapter, I already picked out Ash's water type Pokemon. In regards to the Mega Evolution, I don't really know- I haven't decided whether Pyro will Mega Evolve at all. I suppose it depends on the situation.**

 **Mills65: Just finished all four chapters and I have to say I am disappointed that there isn't more for me to read :( haha but I guess that's good for you if that is the only thing I have to complain about. So far loving the very..I don't know the word for it but how in detail you got into explaining why Pokemon are certain ways like Pichu with Volt Tackle or how Charmander began to have red scales when he was close to evolving. I think that's pretty cool although I wonder how you'd do it for a Pokemon like Magikarp turning into Gyarados or something like that that changes completely different. For Ash's team I hope you don't out rule the Pokemon you need to trade to fully evolve. Perhaps breaking that one game rule would be okay if you did get one of those ;D But back to the story, I love all of Ash' Pokemon. Especially Sobek, excited to see that bad-ass Krookodile later in the story. Wonder which Eeeveelution you'll pick for Eevee..or Eevee picks. That seems like an Ash like thing to do once Eevee gets to that point. One again though before I ramble too much, amazing story and keep updating! (: Hope you have an amazing day! 3 Also because it's my favorite Pokemon..I can't help but say Swinub, espically fully evolved Mamoswine, would be a great fit to Ash's team ;)**

 **-Quite the lengthy review you made here! I appreciate the time you put into this. I promise there will be much more to read lol. I try my best to make my stories detailed, so I'm glad you like it. In regards to Pokemon that evolve by trade, I've got that handled. I'm glad you're enjoying Ash's current team, and it will definitely expand in the future! I make no promises on the Swinub, but I appreciate the suggestion! I hope you continue to read and review!**

 **aj2554: I really like it! I'm glad you are doing this for the sake of all the Pikachu lovers out there. But one question still remains: Is Ash going to be paired up with anyone soon?**

 **-I'm really doing the fic for all Pokemon lovers out there in general, but I'm glad you like Pikachu's part in the story. As for your question, I'll say this- Ash is currently ten years old in the fic. Let's worry about his love life when he's old enough to actually understand the birds and the bees, yeah? Besides, he's busy training his Pokemon.**


	6. The Follower

_Chapter Six: The Follower_

Route 11 was a long road, Ash reflected as he began to make camp for the night. It was mostly prairie, with large patches of tall grass that he wisely avoided. In that tall grass were Ekans and Raticate, who could be aggressive if startled. Ash also heard that there were Drowzee around, but the psychic types didn't actually cause any harm to passing trainers. They fed on dreams, which was harmless unless Drowzee attacked with malicious intent. The only noticeable change for the individual would be a night of dreamless sleep.

There were Spearow flocks as well, but again, they weren't aggressive until they were provoked. That is, unless a Fearow was leading them. The evolved Pokemon were what made Spearow dangerous, what with their highly aggressive temperament and short fuse. They were the real threat, but Ash was confident that he could handle any of the birds.

Over the course of the week he spent traversing the prairies, he fought every trainer that he possibly could and defeated all of the people he encountered. Most were training to defeat Lt. Surge, so he supposed that was the reason why he won each of the battles. He only met a couple of trainers that gave him an actual challenge, which made most of the fights somewhat boring. He did earn a good bit of money though, so that was a plus.

Ash pushed his team as hard as he could whenever they stopped for the night. They all went to bed with sore muscles. Even Eevee, because the little normal type spent the whole day walking with Ash and Pikachu. She hadn't warmed up to him much, but she had been watching the rest of the team's training sessions with more interest as of late.

Once camp was ready, Ash set his team loose. There weren't many targets to practice moves on in the prairie, so they just sparred against one another. He waited for each of his Pokemon to adjust themselves upon release from the confines of their pokeballs before addressing them.

"Okay guys, tonight is another round of sparring," Ash told them. "Douse, try to help Pyro learn Mega Punch. Warm up with that and then practice some close range fighting, okay?"

Douse nodded and cracked his knuckles. Pyro lashed his tail from side to side, the flame on the tip already burning brighter than normal. Ash smiled at that. Those two got along marvelously. Douse was just easy to befriend and Pyro seemed to like anything that could fight him on equal terms.

"Sobek, you and Pikachu are the other pair," he continued. "I want you two to work on improving speed and endurance. Start doing fifties and keep at them until I come over to you, alright?"

Pikachu nodded, but Sobek gave Ash a deadpan look. The boy smirked. "Don't give me that, Sobek. You need to improve your speed and you know it."

Sobek rolled his eyes and growled with displeasure. The croc hated these exercises. They were straight from Surge's training advice- simply running back and forth over a short distance nonstop until they could run no further. None of the team were particularly fond of the brutal sprints, but Sobek hated them with a passion.

Ash glanced at his team and nodded. "Alright then, get to work. You have ten minutes to warm up and then we'll be working for at least an hour."

A chorus of voices answered him as the four Pokemon separated into their groups. Ash went back to the camp and sat down, watching them exercise for a few moments before pulling out his PokeNav and looking up their current position. He was only two days from Lavender Town. One more day on the prairie, then another on the extensive wooden bridges that made up the northern section of Route 12. Ash had never been that far east before, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little excited about it.

Eastern Kanto and Lavender Town were as far as the Indigo League extended in that direction. Further to the east lay the regions of Fiore, Almia, and Oblivia. All three were run by the Ranger Union and now denied access to any Pokemon trainers because of the Shadow Pokemon War against Cipher. The Orre region where Cipher had originated from lay to the west, far along the coast beyond Johto. It was a roughneck country full of criminals and lawlessness. Only a few areas were populated because of the titanic desert dominating the region. Even fewer species of wild Pokemon resided there, due both to the harshness of the environment and the damage done in the war.

To the southwest of Kanto lay the Hoenn region, a massive tropical expanse that was formed by the eruption of Mt. Chimney millions of years ago. It was home to the Hoenn League, an ally to Indigo that had also fought in the war against Cipher. Champion Drake had led the Hoenn forces at that time. He had since retired his mantle as Champion to become a member of the Hoenn Elite Four, but he was still infamous.

Drake had helped train the Indigo Champion Lance and was widely considered to be the greatest Dragon Master of their time. The man's Salamence was a monstrosity- the pinnacle of dragon types. As ancient as its master, the dragon was arguably still the most powerful Pokemon in Hoenn and was said to be stronger than Lance's Dragonite. Ash had heard stories of Drake and his Salamence crushing Cipher forces in Orre to the point that the organization actively took extreme measures to avoid all contact with the Dragon Master. The current Hoenn Champion was a master of the equally tough steel type, but he had only been recently indicted and for the life of him, Ash couldn't recall his name.

The Hoenn League actually had a different structural system than Indigo. It consisted of four trainers making up the Elite Four, and then a Champion. Indigo also had four trainers that made up the Elite Four, but Lance doubled as a member of that rank and as the Champion. Ash had heard rumors that his home region would soon be adopting a similar structure, as Sinnoh was attempting the same in its early development and the far-off Kalos region had recently gone through the change itself.

Sinnoh had been subject to internal power struggles for the last few decades, torn apart by a conflict between its eastern and western sides. It had recently settled down and a tentative League had been established, but from what he understood their Elite Four and Champion changed frequently. Apparently, there weren't any trainers yet strong enough to maintain those titles.

Far off to the west was Unova. Ash knew little about the region aside from the fact that it was Sobek's home, but he knew it was old- as old as Indigo, Hoenn, and Kalos. The League there was led by Champion Alder, who was Drake's rival when the pair of them were young. Ash knew little else about the old Champion and nothing about Unova's Elite Four, but if Alder was Drake's rival then he suspected they were probably quite strong.

Kalos was a place Ash knew a little more about, but only because a friend of his had moved there years ago. It was far across the sea to the east, and some researches suspected that Kalos and Kanto had once been a single land mass. Continental drift had caused them to split apart and their separation also led to the formation of Oblivia, which was, in fact, a small chunk of both regions. Kalos had many species of Pokemon considered native to Kanto, but it also had unique breeds that were impossible to find anywhere else.

Ash smiled to himself. He remembered doing all that research on Kalos when he was eight because he wanted to make sure it was a good place for his friend to move to. No amount of protests had prevented the move, but he was still glad he knew as much about it as he did. At least his friend learned about her new home before she left Kanto.

Champion Diantha had recently taken up the mantle in Kalos. She was the youngest Champion to date- only eighteen years old. Ash remembered watching that battle on TV. Her Gardevoir had single-handedly annihilated half of the previous Champion's team. The psychic type was insanely talented at picking apart her opponents with judicious use of teleportation and overwhelming power. Ash was pretty sure Gardevoir was even more powerful than Sabrina's infamous Alakazam. After that, Diantha only needed to use two more of her Pokemon- a strange flying type called a Hawlucha and an ice type called Aurorus.

He looked eastward on impulse and wondered for a moment how his childhood friend was doing. She was his age- maybe she'd become a trainer…?

A yip got Ash's attention and he glanced down at Eevee. The normal type was giving him an annoyed look and jerked her head towards the others. He realized that he'd spent more time than he'd intended on the PokeNav and jumped up.

"Thanks, Eevee. Sorry guys, I'm coming now!"

* * *

"Pyro, Slash!" Ash commanded.

The Charmeleon ducked underneath a Water Gun from the Seadra they were fighting and lunged while it was still in the air. The water type had jumped out of the sea to strike, leaving itself open to a counterattack.

Pyro lashed out with sharp claws and cut right through the tough scales covering Seadra's body. The water type screeched angrily and tried to spit a Bubble Beam at him, but Pyro slashed through the bubbles and then smashed into Seadra with a vicious tackle. The Dragon Rush proved to be too much for Pyro's opponent and battered Seadra into unconsciousness.

Ash breathed a sigh of relief. That had been one of the toughest foes he'd met on the way to Lavender Town thus far. Seadra's trainer, a fisherman, recalled the water type and approached him.

"That was some fight!" Exclaimed the man. "It's not everyday someone beats my Seadra, especially a fire type. Your Charmeleon is something else, kid."

"Thank you," Ash smiled back. "That Seadra really was strong. I thought it was going to beat us a few times there."

"I appreciate the kind words," replied the fisherman. He handed Ash the prize money he owed graciously and then poised a question. "Say, where are you headed to?"

"Lavender Town."

The man arched an eyebrow. "You might think about heading in the opposite direction, kiddo. There've been some creepy stories coming out of that town. Well, creepier than normal."

"Creepy?" Ash replied questioningly.

"Yeah. The town is a historical haunt of ghost types, but word is lately that those ghosts are behaving nastily. I wouldn't risk getting attacked. They're dangerous, those ghosts."

The boy smirked. "Actually, those ghosts are the whole reason I'm going there. I wanted to capture one for my gym battle against Sabrina."

"Sabrina, eh?" the fisherman snorted. "Yeah, I'd say you'll need one to stand a chance against her. I think I'll hit one of the lesser gyms before I risk fighting those beasts of hers. Anyway, good luck with the ghosts kid."

Ash nodded and then went on his way. He was just a few hours away from Lavender Town and none of the warnings he'd heard about the place were going to deter him. Ash was getting a ghost- he'd travelled too far to turn away because of a few scared people.

Pyro nudged his trainer's arm and growled to get his attention. Ash smiled at his starter and scratched the horn on the Charmeleon's head. Pyro made a happy rumble in turn and the pair of them continued walking. Ash readjusted his hat in the face of the midday sun. The only downside of being so close to the sea at this time of year was it was ridiculously hot. Pyro loved it, but Ash was sweating bullets.

Doing his best to ignore the heat, he continued on his way.

* * *

Upon arrival at Lavender Town, Ash noticed two things that stood out: One, the locals were downright rude. Not a single one was kind enough to point out the Pokemon Center when he asked and just brushed him off. Ash ended up wandering for a while before he finally found the place, still sweaty and now irritated by the annoying behavior of the town residents.

Two: Lavender Town was unusually chilly. Once he'd walked into the town, the temperature plunged and Ash got the primal sense that he was not supposed to be anywhere near the place.

He was relieved that at least Nurse Joy was still polite despite the rest of the town.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center!" Joy said kindly. "How may I help you?"

"My Pokemon need a checkup, please," Ash told her, setting his pokeballs on the counter.

"Of course. I'll call you when your Pokemon are fully healed," she told him.

Ash nodded. "If it's not too much trouble to ask, what's going on in the town? I heard rumors on the way here that the ghost types are acting strangely."

Joy frowned. "Yes, they have been more aggressive lately. No one seems to know why, but all the ghosts are congregating around Pokemon Tower. They attack anyone that tries to enter the upper levels of the tower and seem driven by some otherworldly force."

"It's that bad?"

"Under the circumstances, the League dispatched one of their agents to deal with the problem. But she hasn't returned yet…" Joy glanced at the phone at her desk. "It's been a day already. I've thought about calling the League again. This town is actually the home of Elite Four Agatha, but she was otherwise occupied when the call came in. Now…"

Ash thought about it for a moment. "Actually, I was thinking of entering the tower to pick up a ghost type. Is that possible right now?"

Joy fixed him with a glare. "Now listen here. These wild ghost types aren't anything to scoff at. The agent the League sent in is an Elite Four class trainer. If she can't handle the problem, you can't-"

"-I don't mean the upper levels of Pokemon Tower. You said the problem was concentrated up high, right?" Ash replied. "I'll stay on the lower floors. And if I find that agent, then I can tell you if she needs help or not."

"Well…" Joy hesitated, pursing her lips. "I can't encourage you to go. But if you really do insist on going, I can't exactly stop you, either. Although I recommend you meet with Mr. Fuji. He runs the Pokemon Day Care here and he used to be a Pokemon Professor as well. Talk to him first."

"I'll do that," he promised. "I'll go talk to him while my Pokemon are being healed."

"Very well. The Day Care is just a short walk from here. Mr. Fuji built it close to the Pokemon Center in case any of the young Pokemon became sick."

Joy gave him directions to the Day Care and Ash took off. He couldn't enter Pokemon Tower yet, but he could at least get some idea as to what was going on.

* * *

A small girl answered his knock at the Day Care. She blinked at Ash and hid behind the door slightly. "C-can I help you?"

Ash smiled and tried his best to look friendly. "I was wondering if Mr. Fuji is here?"

"Yeah, he is," she squeaked. "He's my grandpa. Do you know him?"

"No, but I need to talk to him. Please?"

The girl seemed to consider, then nodded. "Wait here a moment."

She closed the door and Ash heard the sound of footsteps running off. He inwardly sighed. Even the kids here behaved very oddly around strangers. Ash was tempted to pin that on the presence of so many ghost Pokemon, but decided against it. There were plenty of ghost type trainers that didn't behave like this. Agatha, for one. The Elite Four member was fierce and not at all against human contact. Well, that was what he had heard of her.

His train of thought ended as the door swung open, revealing an old man with a curious expression upon his face. "Yes? May I help you, young man?"

"You're Mr. Fuji, right?" He asked. At the elder's nod, he went on. "My name's Ash. I'm a trainer. I came here to catch a ghost type, but Nurse Joy said I should come talk to you first because of all the strange things happening around here."

Fuji gave him a scrutinizing look that made Ash slightly uncomfortable, but he nodded again. "Very well. Come inside, please."

"Thank you."

Ash stepped in and looked around. The Day Care was a small and relatively simple affair. Several wooden stables gave the Pokemon their own space, though some of the stables had two or even three inhabitants. Those were small Pokemon though, so Ash assumed they were juveniles or even babies.

Fuji led him to the back, where there was an office of sorts. It was filled with books and research papers on subjects that Ash probably hadn't even heard of. Their owner did used to be a Pokemon Professor, after all.

"Now then," Fuji sat down in a chair and looked at Ash again. "You said you were here to capture a ghost type?"

"Yes sir," Ash replied. "I've been thinking about ways to defeat Sabrina. She's still a long way off for me, but I like to plan ahead. I've got a Krokorok right now, but there's no way he could defeat her whole team on his own. I think a ghost type would be a really great member of my team."

"Hm. What would this ghost type be to you once it has served its purpose, Ash?"

Ash frowned. "Served its purpose? What do you mean?"

Fuji was eyeing him analytically. "You say you wish to capture a ghost to defeat Sabrina. Is that all it would be to you? Simply a means to an end?"

That made him scowl. "If this is a joke, it's not funny."

"It's not meant to be funny. Please, answer my question."

"It would be a member of my team," Ash snapped. "That makes it part of my family. Of course I would battle with it against Sabrina, but I'm not just going to discard it once I win the badge. What kind of trainer does that?"

Fuji smiled mysteriously. "More than either of us would be entirely happy about, unfortunately. Very well, you've convinced me. I apologize for the…interrogation, but good trainers are in short supply these days and I'm unwilling to help out those without the best intentions."

He thought the man had an odd way of finding out such information, but didn't say that. Fuji was probably the only one in Lavender Town that knew what was going on with the ghost types.

"First of all, I should enlighten you as to the purpose of Pokemon Tower," Fuji stated. "It serves as a resting place for deceased Pokemon. The people of Lavender Town have buried their partners there for centuries. As a result of all the departed spirits resting there, ghost Pokemon were attracted to the site. Our ghost type trainers made a pact with them long ago, to protect the tower and the people of Lavender Town. In exchange, the ghosts could come and go as they please, as residents of the town itself."

"In regards to what is happening now, I have only a slight clue. There are ghost types that have been relatively unaffected by the strange behavior that has inflicted the rest of their kind. They have informed me that there is an unusual energy flux in the highest floor of Pokemon Tower, caused by a massive gathering of spirits. Why this is happening, I have no idea, but it has the ghosts riled up for some reason."

Ash frowned. "Are they harmful, somehow? The spirits?"

"No. Spirits themselves are simply presences. Ghosts can sense and interact with them, but spirits are not able to actually hurt anyone. No, something else has them on edge and I don't know what. That's what the League Trainer went to find out, but she has yet to return…"

The room was quiet for a moment. Ash suddenly felt a slight breeze on his neck and turned. He screamed a second later at the sight of a skull and a single, glowing red eye. He fell flat on his rear and stared with wide eyes at the skull, which turned out to simply be a mask. The owner of said mask made a cackling laugh and watched him with obvious amusement. Aside from the skull mask and large red eye, the small ghost was simply a wispy black body floating in the air.

Fuji chuckled. "Don't be alarmed. This ghost has been unaffected by the odd influx of spirits. He often stays here and keeps some of the younger Pokemon company."

Ash stared at the ghost curiously. "What is he?"

"A Duskull," Fuji told him. "They're native to the Hoenn region, but you can find them wherever spirits congregate. They are guides of sorts for wandering souls seeking the afterlife. That might sound ominous, but believe it or not they are actually quite friendly."

"Duskull," Ash repeated. He had recovered from his shock and stood back up. The ghost type slowly floated around his head in a circle, scanning Ash with his eye. He apparently liked what he found, because Duskull used the wispy appendages on either side of his body to pick up Ash's hat and lay it upon himself.

Fuji chuckled again. "He likes you."

"I can see that," Ash smiled. Duskull flew to Mr. Fuji and tapped his forehead with a wispy limb. Fuji tapped the center of the ghost's skull mask in return. The old man frowned in thought for a moment more.

"I think you should take Duskull with you to the tower," Fuji said at last. "He is a resident of the tower, after all. He can guide you through the dangerous areas."

He blinked when the ghost appeared to agree and floated back over to Ash. Duskull tapped his forehead this time, surprising Ash with how solid the seemingly wispy appendage felt. The boy smiled back and mimicked Fuji by tapping Duskull in the center of his mask, which pleased the little ghost.

Ash glanced at Mr. Fuji again. "I still have to pick up my team from the Pokemon Center, but then I'll go to the tower. Is there anything else I should know?"

"Just a bit of folklore, if you feel like you have the time," the old man offered. When Ash nodded, he went on. "Pokemon Tower has actually been here since the ancient times. In fact, it was here long before Lavender Town was formed. We believe that a long-extinct culture made the tower in honor of a Legendary Pokemon, in the time when Kanto and Kalos were still one landmass."

That had his attention. Ash suddenly felt eager to find out more. "What Pokemon was it?"

"Well, there are a few hypothesis," Fuji admitted. "There isn't much evidence for researchers to identify for sure one or another. However, I believe the tower was designed as a roost."

"A roost?"

"Have you heard of the Bell Tower in Johto?" Fuji asked. Ash shook his head, so the ex-Professor enlightened him. "The Bell Tower is, like the Pokemon Tower, an ancient construct. It was built in honor of the Legendary Pokemon Ho-oh, and served as a roost for it. The people who care for the tower still pass on this legend and continue to preserve it in hopes that one day, Ho-oh may return. However, there was another tower that is much less known since its reconstruction- the Radio Tower in Goldenrod City. It used to be a shrine as well, a roost for Lugia. It is another Legendary Pokemon, though the tower built to serve as its roost was destroyed long ago."

"I believe that given the geographical location of Pokemon Tower here in Lavender Town, it served as a roost for a Legendary Pokemon thought to reside in Kalos- Yveltal. I think Yveltal used to live here before Kalos and Kanto split apart. The tower was on the edge of the continental drift and simply wasn't a part of the mass which became Kalos."

"Yveltal?" Ash repeated. He'd never heard of such a Pokemon. Ho-oh and Lugia were names he was familiar with, but Yveltal was alien to him.

"Yveltal is considered among Legendary Pokemon to be an incarnation of death. Its power drains the life force from all that around it. How and why are questions we may never have the answer to, for no one has actually seen an Yveltal in the flesh. All we have of it are ancient descriptions and paintings. It would bear a certain irony that Yveltal may have once resided in Pokemon Tower, wouldn't you say?"

Ash nodded. That certainly made sense to him- a Pokemon that embodied death resting in a place meant for the departed to be at peace. He wondered if that had ever made Yveltal sad- that its only companions would be those with no life left in them. It seemed like a lonely existence.

Fuji smiled to himself and shook his head. "Anyways, I think that's enough rambling on my part. Go on, Ash. Good luck exploring the tower. I hope you find your ghost."

"Thank you," Ash replied. Duskull floated out of the room (still wearing his hat) and the boy turned to follow, but paused when Fuji stopped him one last time.

"If for whatever reason you do find yourself climbing the higher floors of the tower, do not attempt to enter the top floor. The ghost Pokemon guard it jealously and only Agatha is allowed access. I think it is a special place for them, though for what reason is beyond me."

He nodded again. "I'll remember that. Thanks again."

* * *

After picking up his team from the Pokemon Center, Ash followed Duskull to the massive tower on the eastern edge of town. The construct was enormous- far bigger than he'd expected. It was probably twelve floors high and jet-black. There was something about the place that seemed to warn him away, but Ash had come too far to just leave. Duskull led him to a large door and the two of them entered Pokemon Tower.

It was quite dark inside. Ash couldn't see much of anything, aside from countless tombstones that lined the floor in rows. He reached for a pokeball, but Duskull tapped his forehead slightly harder than before. Ash paused. Apparently, releasing one of his Pokemon wasn't a good idea.

"So, where are the ghosts, Duskull?" Ash asked quietly.

Duskull started to float away, turning for just a second to let Ash know he was supposed to follow. He walked after the small ghost. It was easy to keep up with him- apparently, Duskull wasn't one for speed.

They walked throughout the tower for a while. Ash climbed three flights of stairs and stopped at the fourth, the warnings from Joy and Mr. Fuji ringing in his ears. Yet Duskull persisted and Ash's own curiosity gave way to the ghost's beckoning. They hadn't seen a single ghost type yet and the absence of them was eerie.

They were at the base of the stairs that would take them to the sixth floor when Duskull tapped his forehead again to stop him. He paused and Duskull did the same, the single red eye narrowing. Ash thought that the ghost looked angry and decided that whatever was above them was not friendly. The ghost gave Ash his hat back and then vanished though a wall. He waited quietly; Duskull obviously had something in mind.

He heard two dull thumps and then Duskull appeared at the top of the stairs, beckoning him to follow. Ash ran up and froze when he saw two men unconscious on the ground. He had no idea what Duskull had done to them, but they were still alive.

Then he saw the black uniforms with the characteristic red "R" on the shirts and realized why Duskull had attacked.

Alarm and then rage went through him as he comprehended the sight. Team Rocket. The same group that had been ambushing trainers in Mt. Moon to steal their Pokemon for profit. They were operating here, probably capturing ghosts for their own personal gain. It also explained why the League trainer hadn't returned- they had probably captured her or worse.

Even if they were unconscious, Ash wasn't willing to leave them there armed. He grabbed their pokeballs and stuffed them into his bag. They'd do something about the Pokemon inside later.

Now in a hurry, the ghost led Ash to the base of the stairs for the next floor and stopped when they heard footsteps coming down. Ash hid behind a tombstone and gripped Pyro's pokeball. If it came to a fight, he was more than ready to fight off the Rocket grunts. They weren't very powerful on their own, as he recalled. It was when they were in a group that they were the most dangerous.

Two grunts appeared at the base of the stairs. They looked around and called out. "Hey, you lazy bums! You're on the job! Respond when we call you-"

Duskull suddenly floated in behind them and his single eye glowed brightly. Red energy coalesced in a faint outline around the two men. They froze and grimaced tightly before falling to the ground. Ash recognized the move as Disable.

He switched his hand from Pyro's pokeball to Douse's and set the Poliwhirl loose. The grunts were unable to move, but Duskull had left them conscious. That was enough for Ash.

Douse seemed confused by the situation. Ash pointed at one of the Rocket grunts and muttered quietly. "Use Hypnosis. I need to find out why they're here, Douse."

The Poliwhirl nodded and stood in front of one of the grunts. Ash pulled up the immobilized man's head and made him look at the spiral pattern on Douse's belly. The pattern began to swirl, enrapturing the grunt through his eyes. When the man's gaze became sleepy, Ash got started.

"What's Team Rocket doing here?"

"Catching ghost types," the grunt responded sleepily. "The creepy monsters are rare and worth a lot of money."

Ash's eyes narrowed. "How many of you are there?"

"Standard squad. Twenty grunts and an Admin."

"Who's the Admin?"

"Lady Ariana. She's the head of research for Team Rocket. Real beauty, she is."

Ash rolled his eyes. He didn't care if the Admin was a supermodel. She was an enemy and a criminal. "A League trainer was sent to the tower not long ago. What happened to her?"

"Ariana insisted we keep her," the grunt muttered. "She had some badass Pokemon, but Ariana's got a nasty Vileplume. The little monster blasted the League trainer with Sleep Powder before she even knew we were here. And that chick is hot, let me tell you…"

"Please don't," Ash snapped. "Where are you keeping her and her Pokemon? Also, where are all of the ghost types?"

"Next floor. Ariana didn't want her in the way of all the stuff happening on the top of the tower. We caught most of the ghosts. The rest of em are just floating around somewhere."

He nodded. "Douse, put him to sleep."

Douse's spiral pattern sped up a bit and then the grunt passed out completely. Ash stood up with clenched fists. He was gonna give the Rockets a taste of their own medicine. Snatching the pokeballs from the unconscious grunts, Ash gave his orders to the two Pokemon beside him.

"Duskull, find out if there are any other grunts on the next floor. Douse, you're with me. We're going to help out that trainer and then beat Team Rocket senseless."

The ghost vanished quickly. Douse just nodded and followed his trainer. Ash knew that Douse had never encountered Team Rocket before, but he had to rely on him. Hypnosis would be invaluable for incapacitating the grunts they ran into.

Ash and Douse waited until Duskull returned. When the ghost reappeared at the base of the stairs, he shook his head. There were no grunts on the next floor. The ones they had just knocked out were likely the only ones that had been guarding the League trainer. Without further ado, they made their way the next floor.

Duskull led them straight to the League trainer, who was tied up and still asleep from what had probably been a nasty dose of Sleep Powder. To Ash's surprise, he recognized her.

"Cynthia?" Ash snapped his fingers in front of her eyes to get her attention. He glanced nervously around the room. They had no way of knowing when the next group of grunts would come downstairs to check things out. "Cynthia, wake up. C'mon."

She wasn't waking up anytime soon and he felt kind of bad for what he was about to do, but they would need her strength to beat down Team Rocket. "Douse, use Wake-Up Slap…gently."

Douse offered the sleeping teenager a sympathetic look before delivering a (by his standards) fairly gently slap to her face. Ash winced. The move wouldn't even make most Pokemon flinch, but that was a decent slap by human standards.

Cynthia's eyes shot open and she glared at him furiously. She opened her mouth to snap, but froze in surprise when she recognized him. "What the- why are you-"

"Shh!" Ash quickly put a finger over his lips. "There are still Rockets here. They're the ones who knocked you out."

Her eyes widened. "Rockets? Wait- what happened? I was climbing the tower…"

"You took a nasty dose of Sleep Powder from their Admin's Vileplume," Ash told her. When she gave him a questioning look, he embellished. "I had my Poliwhirl hypnotize a couple of grunts on the floor below this one and got some answers out of them. You've been here for two days. I'm sorry for waking you up like that, but you were really out of it."

"No, you probably just saved my life…what are you doing here, Ash?"

"I came here to catch a ghost type Pokemon. Then I ran into the Rockets and well…you know the rest. I didn't know you were the League trainer they were talking about, though. That was just chance."

Cynthia nodded. "Are my Pokemon still here?"

"I think so. Duskull-"

He was cut off when the little ghost floated over with six pokeballs orbiting around him. Ash blinked and gestured to Duskull. "Well, there you go."

"That's a relief. Can you get these binds off of me?"

Ash set Pyro loose immediately. The Charmeleon looked bewildered by the odd situation, but didn't question Ash when he ordered the fire type to cut Cynthia's bonds. Once she was free, Pyro looked at his trainer again.

"There are Rockets here in the Pokemon Tower," he told his starter quietly. "We're going to give them a taste of their own medicine."

Pyro's eyes narrowed into slits and his lip curled in the beginnings of a snarl at the mention of Team Rocket.

Cynthia stood up and took her pokeballs from Duskull graciously. "Thank you. But Ash, you need to leave. If what you said is true, there's another Rocket Admin here. You remember how strong Proton was in Mt. Moon, don't you?"

Ash protested immediately. "I want to stay and help! What if you get knocked out again?"

"That was sheer dumb luck on the Rocket's part and not something I'm going to let them repeat," she muttered. Her eyes flashed dangerously and Ash inwardly shivered- Cynthia could be menacing when she wanted to be.

"Very well, I'll let you come along," Cynthia said. "But you stay with me. Engage only the grunts and stay away from the Admin. I will deal with that one. They're on the upper floors, correct?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. The Rocket we hypnotized said there were twenty of them and an Admin. There are only sixteen grunts left now since we knocked out four of them. The Admin is a woman called Ariana. Apparently, she leads research for Team Rocket."

"Does she? Not for much longer. Come. We need to move quickly."

* * *

The next few floors were the same as the previous ones- guarded only by pairs of grunts. That was the case up until the final floor, where ten Rockets likely protected their Admin. Ash and Cynthia had yet to see them, but they had sent in Duskull to scout as he had done for the previous floors of the tower.

It also became apparent that there was an unusual power growing on this last floor. Ash had no idea what the power was, but it scared Duskull. The little ghost was shivering from the force Team Rocket had instigated. It was making them uneasy.

Once Duskull reported back, Cynthia picked out one of her pokeballs and looked as Ash. "I'm going to set one of my Pokemon on them. When the fighting starts, you stay behind me and do not stray. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

Cynthia nodded and tapped the release. Ash's eyes widened when a massive beast appeared before his eyes. The creature was easily seven feet tall and had powerful claws and teeth. It had dark blue scales covering its body, fins on its arms, back, and tail like a shark, and a sheer presence that could only belong to a dragon type.

"This is Garchomp. She was my starter Pokemon," Cynthia lifted her hand to rub the dragon's snout fondly. Garchomp rumbled a greeting to her trainer and then fixed pale yellow eyes on Ash. He did his best not to show the tension he felt- Garchomp held the same presence to her as Giovanni's Rhyperior, maybe even more so.

The dragon seemed to deem him acceptable and then looked back to her trainer for instruction. Cynthia murmured something quietly to her, and Garchomp's eyes flared with aggression. Ash didn't get to ask what she said because a second later, Garchomp had blurred up the stairs to the top floor and begun her assault.

Ash flinched as a violent tremor wracked the tower. The yells and screams of the Rocket grunts were easily audible above the furious growls of Garchomp as her wrath was unleashed. Cynthia had a satisfied smile on her face as she led Ash upstairs.

The whole place was chaos. Garchomp was darting at anyone in a Team Rocket uniform, knocking them out with swift blows from her fins or tail. Any Pokemon that the grunts tried to send out were defeated before they had even the foggiest idea what was happening. Ash caught sight of a woman in a white uniform barking orders and surmised that she was probably the Admin he'd heard of.

Cynthia had noticed her too. Once Garchomp had crushed all of the grunts, she strode towards Ariana with a firm glare plastered to her face.

"I'm going to be civil despite the fact that you saw fit to knock me out for a couple of days," Cynthia told her stiffly. "Give yourself up."

Ariana's response was to send out a Vileplume and a huge Arbok, which hissed and lashed its tail furiously. The serpent's hood spread and it managed to look legitimately intimidating. At least, it did to Ash.

Cynthia had no such reservations. "Garchomp, do it."

The dragon bared her fangs with fiendish delight. She lunged at Arbok and her body became enveloped in blue-green energy- Dragon Rush, Ash realized. But a Dragon Rush that had been perfected to a degree that he hadn't even dreamed of. Arbok fired a Hyper Beam and Garchomp blazed right through it, impacting the serpent with devastating force. Vileplume frantically tried to hit the dragon with Sleep Powder, but then Garchomp unleashed a tongue of flame from its maw that cooked the grass type instantly. Ariana's Pokemon were out not five seconds after their release.

Ariana looked shocked. "Who are you?!"

"That's none of your concern," Cynthia had a frown on her face. "Surrender. I'm not above letting Garchomp knock you out."

Garchomp sneered at Ariana, making the woman flinch briefly. For a moment, it seemed like she was going to surrender.

Then the temperature plummeted a good ten degrees and they all froze.

Ash startled as Duskull literally tried to hide himself in his bag. The ghost was frantic- no, he was downright terrified. Ash looked back up as Ariana spun away from them to stare at a strange rock on the floor. To his surprise, it wriggled. A moment later a blast of horribly dark energy erupted from the small stone and repelled himself, Ariana, and Cynthia away. Ash winced when he fell hard, but managed to look up just as the energy began to swirl around the stone, creating a vortex of purples and greens.

He wondered if this thing was the reason why the top floor of Pokemon Tower was banned to all but Agatha, but didn't get to think about it any longer when the vortex suddenly grew a pair of slanted emerald eyes and a similarly colored fanged maw. The creature blinked and its eyes narrowed with anger. The three people watching could only stare as its ethereal mouth briefly closed.

The roar which tore from the creature's fangs made Ash's skin crawl and mashed down on every single primal instinct in his body. It was a command to flee from this creature's very presence, for it was not of this world and held no pity nor mercy for any living thing in its path. The ghost was uncontrollable fury incarnate.

Nothing had ever made him want to run before, but this thing was doing a better job of it than anything else he had encountered prior.

Ash saw ghostly black energy start to gather at its mouth and realized it was about to fire a Shadow Ball. He reached for Sobek's pokeball, knowing that the dark type was probably his only hope of fighting this thing, but he was stopped as Ariana threw a pokeball at the creature. It was sucked in before it had the opportunity to attack, and the pokeball hit the ground with a clatter.

There was a pregnant pause of utter silence. Then the pokeball exploded and the creature sprang free with its eyes widened in surprise, but the shock was brief. The emerald orbs glared daggers at Ariana a second later and the Rocket Admin turned and ran for the stairs. But the creature roared again and unleashed a howling gale of black wind, blowing her away and the limp bodies of the unconscious Rockets lying all over the room.

Ash dove behind a tombstone to hide from the blast and cringed at the bloodcurdling howl the creature made. It was beyond reason. It would kill them all before letting even one of them escape, and it would not differentiate between the Rockets and himself.

Then Garchomp roared and lunged at it. The creature seemed surprised that something was actually attacking it, and shrieked when Garchomp spat a sphere of emerald energy at it. Ash watched as the Dragon Pulse made contact and exploded, knocking the creature back. It generated a second Shadow Ball and fired it this time, but Garchomp blocked it with the fins on her arms and roared at the creature again.

Cynthia was calmly giving orders to the dragon- Ash had no idea how she was doing it in the face of this terrifying entity, but it was awe-inspiring to watch. The creature that was making him freeze up was helpless in the face of Garchomp's onslaught, and he watched, incredulous, as the fury in its eyes turned to hesitance, then panic. Garchomp was overpowering it, proving attack after attack that she held more raw power than the ghost.

In desperation it seemed, the ghost tried to hit Garchomp with a Hyper Beam. The dragon again braced herself with her fins and took the harsh orange beam head-on. She blew it away when the Hyper Beam sputtered out and fired another Dragon Pulse, this time hitting the stone that the creature had originated from.

It gave out a wailing cry and suddenly all the violet and green energy retreated back into the stone. Cynthia had a pokeball flying through the air before Ash could blink, sucking the creature into it. This time, the ball wriggled on the floor and went still shortly after it had been contained.

Ash let out a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding. The temperature went back to normal and the malicious air the creature had exuded was gone.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Cynthia watching him with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," he managed. "I'm fine."

She nodded and looked up as Garchomp came over with the pokeball containing the creature in one of her claws. Cynthia took the ball gratefully and looked at it with a frown. "It seems as though we found out what was causing the influx of spirits here."

Ash blinked. "Wasn't that caused by Team Rocket capturing all the ghosts?"

"No. Their presence disturbed the ghosts, yes, but it didn't cause this," Cynthia told him. She held the pokeball up. "This is a Spiritomb. It's a ghost Pokemon that forms by gathering hundreds of spirits and concentrating them in the stone we saw- an Odd Keystone. It likely had been slumbering here until the Rockets came. They probably tried to awaken it in order to capture Spiritomb and use it for themselves."

"Well, they definitely woke it up," Ash managed. "But I think it woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Even Gary isn't that cranky when you wake him up early."

Cynthia smiled with amusement. "Well, I'll keep Spiritomb with me for now. I'll have to talk with Agatha to decide what happens to it. Come on- we should get to the Pokemon Center. I have a call to make to the League. These Rockets can't just be left here to escape. Garchomp, watch them."

Garchomp grinned and nodded, stalking over to the unconscious form of Ariana and sitting down beside her. Ash had a feeling that the Admin wouldn't be moving much, even if she woke up.

That was fine with him. He just wanted to get out of the tower.

* * *

A few hours later, Ash watched as League forces came out of the tower with the Rockets in custody. He had given them the pokeballs he retrieved from the unconscious grunts on the lower floors once they arrived. Cynthia was currently speaking with the leader of the group, but whatever they were talking about was lost to Ash.

"Seems you didn't find your ghost."

He jumped and spun around, but relaxed when he found the voice belonged to Mr. Fuji. The old man smiled with amusement. "Though you look like you sure have seen one."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Ha ha. Very funny."

"It is, depending on your point of view," Fuji chuckled. "Still, I'm glad you made it out of the tower alright. We owe you a great deal, boy. If you hadn't insisted on going, those Rockets probably would have made off with many of our town's precious ghost Pokemon."

"I didn't really do much," he protested, embarrassed by the praise. "Cynthia did all the real work. I just woke her up."

"Still, without you, who knows what may have happened? Don't sell yourself short, Ash. Few trainers would have had the courage to keep climbing the tower."

Ash shrugged helplessly, but Fuji just smiled. "By the way, where is Duskull?"

"Oh, he dove into my bag when Spiritomb…huh?" Ash looked into his bag and frowned. "Um…he was here a little while ago."

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure he'll come around before too long," the old man told him. "He's probably in the Day Care as we speak, playing with some of the little ones."

Their conversation was cut short as Cynthia walked over to him. Ash faced the teenager with a question.

"The Rockets are taken care of?"

"Yes. They'll be taken to a prison for the time being until we can get someone from the League to interrogate them. It seems Ariana has quite a bit of information regarding their organization- we'll probably have Sabrina get it out of her."

Ash nodded and Cynthia gave him an apologetic smile. "That said, with the current state of things, I'm afraid Pokemon Tower is going to have restricted access for a while. Only Agatha and her people will be allowed inside. You'll have to put your ghost hunt on hold."

He smirked. "That's okay. I'm just happy I got to cause Team Rocket trouble."

That got him a brief frown, but it disappeared from the tall girl's face just as quickly. "What will you do now, Ash?"

"I'll probably make my way to Celadon," Ash replied. "That was the plan after I caught a ghost type. Besides, I need to hit the department store there. A few of my Pokemon need TMs to make their move pools bigger."

Cynthia was quiet for a moment. "How about this? The fastest way to Celadon is through Saffron City. I'll come along with you as far as Saffron, if that's alright with you. I need to speak with Sabrina."

"Um, sure!" The offer caught him by surprise. Ash didn't really know much about Cynthia, but he knew that she was a powerful trainer classed at the Elite Four level. There was a lot he could learn from her- first and foremost how to help Pyro master Dragon Rush.

She smiled. "Great. We'll be staying here for the night, but we can leave first thing tomorrow morning. Does that work for you?"

"Yes," he agreed.

"Excellent. Well, I've still got some things to take care of. I'll meet you in the Pokemon Center tomorrow, alright?"

He nodded. Cynthia turned to Mr. Fuji and bowed slightly to the old man, who returned the curtesy. Then she spun around and left, her long blonde hair swaying behind her.

Mr. Fuji looked back at Ash. "I'd best head home. The young Pokemon are sure to be a little nervous from all the commotion out here."

"Alright," Ash replied. He held his hand out to the elder, who shook it with a grateful smile.

"Again, thank you Ash. I wish you luck on your journey."

They said their goodbyes and parted. Ash headed to the Pokemon Center, suddenly feeling exhaustion from the intense day catching up with him.

* * *

The next day he was immediately faced with a problem- his hat was missing. Ash practically tore his room and bag apart looking for it, but no matter where he checked, he could not find it. He briefly worried he had left it in Pokemon Tower, but dismissed the thought. He had taken it off just before going to bed, he was certain.

He searched for an hour before finally giving it up. It was frustrating- after all, it was a great hat- but there was no point in going nuts over something that could be replaced. Ash sighed. That wasn't exactly the best way to start out his day. He was more than ready to leave Lavender Town now.

No ghost type on his belt and now his hat was missing. Wonderful.

Cynthia was waiting for him in the lobby of the Pokemon Center. She watched him sit down and blinked at the annoyed expression on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"My hat went missing," he muttered. "I know its not that big a deal, but I really liked that hat."

She smiled sympathetically and waited for him to start eating breakfast before she began to talk. "This trip shouldn't take very long. A few days tops, I believe. Route eight isn't very long and it's basically just a straight road between Saffron and Lavender Town."

Ash took a drink and swallowed. "I was wondering if you could help me with a move my Charmeleon knows."

"And that move would be?"

"Dragon Rush," he answered. Cynthia looked surprised, so he continued. "It's an egg move- my mother and Professor Oak bred it into my starter. But Charmeleon just can't seem to get the right kind of energy for Dragon Rush. He just tackles opponents as hard as he can."

"Hmm…" She considered what he told her thoughtfully. "At best, Garchomp can only teach Charmeleon to feel the energy he needs to use Dragon Rush."

Ash looked at her questioningly. Cynthia elaborated. "Dragon type moves aren't easy to learn because the energy they use is so difficult to grasp. Even dragon Pokemon have to train intensely to perfect one of those techniques. It's even harder for a Pokemon that isn't a dragon type. If we had more time, then perhaps I could help you more, but given that we only have a few days…"

"Anything at all would be helpful," Ash assured her.

"Well, then we'll do what we can with the time we have," she promised.

* * *

Their first day of travel was actually rather quiet. Few trainers were traveling back and forth between Lavender and Saffron it seemed, though that might have been due to the high temperature. Ash battled as many of them as he could, while Cynthia simply watched. She analyzed every fight Ash took part in, silent for the most part. When they got back on their way, she would offer a few comments regarding the battle.

They stopped for lunch at midday and made themselves comfortable under the shade of a small tree. It was baking hot outside and any relief from the heat was more than welcome.

Ash set his team loose and passed each of them a can of Pokemon food. Pikachu, Eevee, and Douse settled down close to him because they weren't keen about the heat. However, much to his amusement, Pyro and Sobek went straight into the burning sunlight and started napping together. He knew they loved really warm temperatures, but watching the pair of reptiles actually pile up in a tangle of scaly arms, legs, and tails was funny.

They loved the heat and piling up like that made them happy. It made him happy too, seeing his most aggressive Pokemon getting along so well.

Cynthia seemed to find it amusing as well. "They're right in their element, aren't they?"

"Yeah," Ash agreed, chuckling when Sobek opened his huge jaws and closed his eyes in bliss. That was the croc's way of expelling excess heat, but he knew that Sobek was really doing it just to show off his fangs.

"I have to say Ash, I'm impressed," Cynthia remarked, gesturing to his team. "Last time I saw you, the only Pokemon you had were Charmeleon, Pikachu, and Sandile. You've built up quite the team."

"Thank you," he replied. Pikachu rubbed up against his arm and Ash scratched the mouse's ears fondly. "They did all the hard work."

Her eyes lingered on Eevee. "If you don't mind my asking, where did you get Eevee? They're quite rare."

Ash frowned slightly. "Actually, I adopted her from Officer Jenny in Cerulean City. She had been confiscated from an illegal Pokemon mill and didn't like people at all. I'm taking care of her as best I can, but…she still won't train with me. She doesn't really get along with anyone on the team, either."

Eevee offered him a rebellious look, as though she were backing up his words without placing herself on his side.

Cynthia hid a small smile at the little Pokemon. "It looks like she's healthy. You've done a good job caring for her, even if she won't train with you yet."

She pondered Eevee for another moment before pulling out her own pokeball. "I have an idea. Perhaps Eevee should meet one of my Pokemon. I think she's more likely to get along with this one."

Ash watched curiously as Cynthia tapped the release and set loose a small, canine Pokemon with beautiful icy silver fur. It had deep blue eyes and what looked like ice crystals on its forehead. To his surprise, Eevee perked up at the creature and stared at it intently.

"This is Glaceon," Cynthia introduced. "She's an ice type evolution of Eevee. Glaceon, this is Ash and his team. They're new friends of mine."

Glaceon's elegant tail waved slightly as she made a soft call, breathing cool air upon Ash and his team. He shivered slightly and wondered how powerful the ice type was- the temperature around her was dropping, and in the extreme heat, that meant she was strong to say the least.

Eevee was actually the first one to approach Glaceon and sniffed her curiously. Glaceon watched the little normal type and sat down, patiently waiting for Eevee to complete her inspection. Ash smiled at the sight- he didn't recall ever seeing the small Pokemon so interested in someone else.

Once Eevee had finished taking in Glaceon, she sat down and looked up at the ice type, unsure what to do next. Glaceon's eyes glittered with amusement, then she used one paw to herd Eevee closer to her. Before Eevee could react, Glaceon was licking at her fur. She tried to protest briefly, but the ice type made a low purr of sorts that settled the smaller Pokemon down. Eevee slowly relaxed, giving Glaceon the chance to groom the youngster.

Cynthia smiled. "Nothing quite calms a young Pokemon like being with an older one of the same line. You'll find that many species are like that."

"I'll definitely remember it," Ash promised. He was amazed at how easily Glaceon had calmed Eevee and gotten close to her. It had taken him a month just for Eevee to accept him, and she still didn't really like or listen to him at all.

While Eevee dozed under Glaceon's care, Cynthia looked over to Pyro. "So your Charmeleon is the one that knows Dragon Rush?"

"Yes. But like I said, he can't really use it well," Ash scratched the back of his head.

"I'd like to see him use it," she told him. Cynthia stood up and took another pokeball out. This one released Garchomp, and the sight of the massive dragon startled all of his team except for Eevee, who Ash was pretty sure was asleep.

Garchomp apparently liked the warmth too, because she immediately walked over to the sun and growled happily as heat washed over her scales. Cynthia glanced at Ash. "Bring your Charmeleon over."

Ash nodded eagerly. "Pyro! Get up, buddy. Training time."

Pyro untangled himself from the pile of scales (much to Sobek's annoyance) and walked over to Garchomp fearlessly. He made a growl and the dragon looked down at him for a moment before snorting. She apparently found him to be more amusing than threatening.

Cynthia also seemed amused by the fire type's aggression. "Ash, have Charmeleon use Dragon Rush on Garchomp. She needs to see where he's at to work on it."

Ash glanced at Pyro. "You heard her, Pyro. Do it."

The fire type growled with delight and leapt back from the dragon several meters. He tensed for a moment, irises narrowing to slits, then lunged at her. Garchomp simply stood and waited, not even flinching as Pyro crashed into her head-on.

When the impact only jarred him, Pyro stumbled back and looked at the dragon with a dumbfounded expression. It felt as though he'd charged headfirst into a steel wall. Garchomp bared her fangs in what looked like a grin and made a chuffing sound that Ash interpreted as laughter.

Cynthia had her arms crossed as she analyzed the attack. She got Pyro's attention by whistling sharply and gestured at Garchomp. "Again."

The Charmeleon glanced at Ash first, but when he nodded, the fire type repeated the attack. Again, Garchomp did not move- literally not even an inch. She was so much bigger and stronger than Pyro that his attacks couldn't even make her budge. Cynthia had Pyro repeat Dragon Rush three more times before she looked at her Pokemon.

"Garchomp? What do you think?"

Garchomp considered Pyro with a surprisingly thoughtful expression for several moments. Then she looked at Cynthia and made a light rumble in the back of her throat. The trainer nodded and looked at Ash next. "We'll give you a visual example. One of the best ways for a Pokemon to learn a new move is by watching another use it. Your Charmeleon understands the rough concept of Dragon Rush, but he lacks the finesse required to master it."

Cynthia turned back to Garchomp. "Go."

Garchomp growled at Pyro, getting the fire type's undivided attention. She crouched slightly, bending at the knees and lowering her blunt skull. Ash felt his skin tingle from the gathering dragon type energy before he saw it, coalescing around Garchomp in a blue-green aura. The dragon's irises narrowed into slits and she suddenly launched herself across the grass with unnerving speed. The sheer force of the charge was enough to send a blast of wind strong enough to almost knock Ash over in every direction.

Pyro stood his ground against the wind and simply stared, transfixed by the power Garchomp had displayed. The dragon came to a stop, turned, and then performed the move again. When she was done, she looked at Pyro and made a series of growls and hisses. Whatever she was saying, Pyro understood the gist of it.

The fire type crouched slightly to mimic Garchomp and lowered his head, though he must have done so a bit too much because the dragon stalked over and used her claw to lift Pyro's chin a few inches. She snapped her jaws together loudly and Pyro lunged.

Ash was intrigued. Before now, Dragon Rush had been little more than a rough tackling attack. Pyro didn't bother on technique because blunt force was usually enough to do the job. However, Garchomp's Dragon Rush was far more refined than that. Whereas Pyro's technique was just an overpowered tackle, Garchomp's turned her body into a weapon like a spear- overwhelming raw power with a focal point to concentrate the damage upon.

Pyro's Dragon Rush looked better just after the first try. He didn't charge recklessly and seemed to be focusing on something. But Garchomp was obviously dissatisfied because she growled again and had Pyro repeat the move at least a dozen times. She then provided another example and had her fire type charge practice again.

Cynthia got Ash's attention and gestured back to the shade. "We can leave them to it. Garchomp isn't about to stop now that she's gotten started."

Ash nodded and followed her. There wasn't anything he could do for Pyro, anyways. Garchomp was his teacher now, and Ash had a feeling that her new student would not be getting a break anytime soon.

The dragon had high standards and he doubted she would settle for anything less than perfection.

* * *

Their daily pattern over the next few days repeated in a similar fashion; they would travel for a few hours, Ash challenging any trainers he came across, then settled down for lunch at midday and later in the evening to make camp. During any long stop they made, Garchomp dragged Pyro away from Ash and ran him ragged in the training for Dragon Rush. Once, she actually snatched Pyro's pokeball off of his belt before he could even sit down and released the fire type with a tap of her claw. His starter was dead tired by the time they stopped for the night and Ash always gave him a sympathetic look when Pyro passed out.

Garchomp was a great teacher, but she really was utterly merciless.

While Pyro continued his harsh training, Ash focused on the rest of his team. He often pitted Sobek and Douse against each other, making sure that they stayed on their toes. Sobek hated getting hit by water type moves and Douse did not enjoy being bitten by his crocodilian team mate. Needless to say, this resulted in a variety of tricks on either side in their efforts to strike without being stricken.

Ash had actually gotten an idea with Pikachu's training- he had a problem with Volt Tackle that was similar to the one Pyro had with Dragon Rush. Both moves were rough and not all that refined. With that in mind, he let Pikachu attend some of Pyro's lessons with Garchomp in an effort to make Volt Tackle more effective. When the mouse wasn't working with them, Ash had him practicing Electro Ball. The move wasn't difficult to learn (as Surge had told him in Vermillion) but it did require concentration that Pikachu had yet to learn. Still, he was pretty sure Pikachu would have it down before too long.

He considered the most progress to have been made by Eevee. Glaceon's presence was a boon- she had single-handedly helped Eevee relax and open up. Ash had almost startled when Eevee crawled into his lap one evening after a particularly long grooming session with Glaceon and fallen asleep. She had never willingly gotten that close to him.

Eevee had even begun to train, though only with Glaceon. She was obviously behind the rest of his team, but he had to admit, her Shadow Ball attack was actually quite powerful.

Ash really enjoyed traveling and training with Cynthia. It was the most fun he'd had in a while, and the elite trainer was incredibly knowledgeable. She often told him of legends from the Sinnoh region, ranging anywhere from the two lunar islands to the deities that were said to govern time and space. By the time she had run out of things to tell him, Ash felt a great desire to see Sinnoh personally. One day, he promised himself.

However, all was not sunshine and daisies on their trip. Every night, Ash got an eerie feeling that they were being watched. He hadn't noticed anything unusual and Cynthia said it was possible that the Spiritomb she had captured was emanating negative feelings from inside its pokeball, but that didn't seem right to him. What he felt wasn't negative, just creepy.

It got to the point on their final night of traveling that he couldn't bring himself to sleep. Ash glanced around the camp warily, but found that everyone was asleep and apparently unaffected by what he was feeling.

He gave up after a while that he would see anything and decided to have a drink before sleeping. Ash opened his bag-

-he barely stopped himself from shrieking when he found a skull and a glowing red eye staring back at him. He threw a hand over his mouth and took a minute to calm his pounding heart. Meanwhile, Duskull floated out of his bag and made a quiet snicker.

Ash glared at the ghost and hissed under his breath. "Duskull, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be back in Lavend- that's _my hat!"_

The ghost was wearing his missing hat and seemed to take even more mischievous glee out of the astonished look on Ash's face. He made to grab the hat, but Duskull easily evaded him. Ash's glare returned tenfold. "Duskull, give me my hat back."

Duskull shook his head and used one of his wispy appendages to take the hat off. He held it away from Ash and then pointed at the boy with his spare limb. Ash frowned. "What do you want?"

Duskull again gestured to him, but Ash's frown didn't go away. The ghost rolled his single eye and then in one smooth move, plopped the hat on Ash's head and tapped an empty pokeball on his belt. The boy blinked as Duskull was sucked into the ball and settled there in moments.

Ash didn't really know what to do. Duskull was in a pokeball on his belt…was he supposed to wake someone up and say something about this? A ghost had been tagging along with them for days and no one had noticed. He helplessly wondered what to do for a few more minutes before shrugging and giving up. He'd figure out what to do tomorrow morning.

At least he had his hat back.

* * *

 **A/N. And that's chapter six. Chapter seven should be out soon and eight after that, but I'm going to need some help for chapter nine- I'll need OCs for a tournament because I anticipate that nine (perhaps ten) will be the chapter that goes into the events on the St. Anne. I'll likely only use five or six OCs, but I'd still like to see a few suggestions that I might use in later tournaments.**

 **The rules for OCs are simple: Just give me a brief description of the character (age, gender, behavior, etc.) and list the team they have. No OP Pokemon or legendaries and go easy on the shiny Pokemon as well. If you need a reference of where they need to be power wise, anywhere in between three-five badges is fair game. List four Pokemon you would like them to have because these won't be full battles. Other than that, have fun with it. Now, to the review response for chapter five:**

 **Mateusz: Nice chapter! The in-depth explanations regarding pokemon are interesting as always, but I'd suggest expanding that attention to detail to cover the world as well. An excellent opportunity to do this would be the S.S. Anne, so I'm looking forward to seeing what you have planned. Also looking forward to seeing you move the plot beyond simply obtaining badges, since I suspect that's why you're having him conquer all the gyms so quickly.**

 **-Wish granted! I expanded a little on the world of Challenger in this chapter. I'm taking it slowly otherwise because I would like the readers to learn about this world as Ash travels and learns about it himself. In regards to the plot, you are correct to an extent, but that's not something I'll be truly referencing yet.**

 **Lezaroth: Great job writing this story! It's much better than my own, haha. The gradual changes before evolving are interesting to follow. I'm curious what ghost type will pop up but I'm hoping for a Shuppet. The Banette line needs more love. The fact they are discarded matches Eevee, giving those two a small connection. Giving it a prankster nature bonds the Shuppet to Pikachu, making a link in the team. But those are just my thoughts about it, haha.**

 **-Thank you for the praise! I've never written a Pokemon fanfic before, so I'm just trying to keep it interesting. As for what ghost type Ash is getting, that's been established now. Sorry it wasn't Shuppet, but I do have reasons for going with Duskull rather than its counterpart. You are right in saying that the Banette line needs more love (I have a Mega Banette I use in competitive battles on my Omega Ruby version. Savage little bugger he is!) and I think I will give it some later in the story. As for the pranking nature, I think you'll find Pikachu has plenty of that in common with Duskull.**

 **BlackZackFan: So far I'm guessing that Ash's Eevee will either evolve into Espeon,Umbreon, or Sylveon due to the fact that Ash needs to work on its friendship with him and his team.**

 **-Hmm, I guess we'll just have to wait and see~**

 **Captain Buggles: I can definitely see that you were strongly influenced by Traveler here, lol.** **Not that that's a bad thing, but there are quite a few things that play out very similarly, and even the title is a similar style. I do like fics that go out of their way to explain Pokemon in more detail though, which you definitely do in this fic.** **I gotta admit I rolled my eyes when you introduced Paul, but I came around when I saw that you removed everything that made him infuriating in the anime. Now he seems serious in an understandable way, and not like he's just a clumsy attempt to make an "edgy" character... But I'll keep it at that, since ranting about anime-verse Paul here would be unfair to you.** **I also like how Gym Leaders don't come off as weaklings. I often don't like how the anime handles them, and Kanto was probably the worst offender of all, so any time a fic makes them more competent it's great.**

 **It was a little disappointing to see that you've also gone down the "Pokemon have to evolve or else they'll quickly hit a limit" route, but I understand from a 'realistic' standpoint and I'm not truly upset. It's just that I get tired of how a lot of people automatically condemn anime Ash for not fully evolving enough Pokemon, when I think it's honestly very kind and in-character of him to value a Pokemon's wishes over strength. But I think the negativity towards it might even be why XY has moved away from that. (Honestly, in comparison to earlier regions, the XY anime sometimes seems like an official Smart Ash, lmao).** **Meanwhile, I'm part of the group that feels like the problem isn't that, it's that the anime doesn't try hard enough to explore and justify why it could be a viable option. I always thought that it would be an interesting concept to carry that over to a fic, but then specifically show that Ash and that Pokemon fight and train very strategically and creatively to overcome their disadvantage. After all, in gameverse, unevolved Pokemon learn moves faster, which is something a lot of people don't bother to incorporate. I imagine it's an efficiency thing. They need to learn how to do more with less, basically.** **The short version is that I'm a fan of creativity over raw power. But this story is creative regardless, so what I said wasn't meant as criticism or trying to make you go that route, I just wanted to share a thought.**

 **And one last thing... Will Ash be showing any bigger flaws or negative character development? It may seem like a weird question, and I'm not trying to say that this interpretation of him is flat, but so far it seems like he's overall a very kind, intelligent, brave, talented kid at only the age of ten. Although he did underestimate Team Rocket, extreme bravery to the point of potentially hurting yourself is such a common mark of a "badass" that it's often viewed positively, which kind of weakens that particular flaw... Plus, it was a similar situation to Traveler. And this brings me to the following: I think that some kind of important flaw or mistake could be a great way to diverge from the Traveler template a bit more and have this story gain some more independence... Kinda like how Traveler had that Golduck that Ash had to release, but in this case I'm talking even deeper. A bad situation or complication that is well and truly Ash's fault. Something he can't just run from, something that can't be fixed too quickly, something with true consequences that strongly matter to him and will keep sticking with him... Everyone has moments like that, so I think it'd add some depth and realism. Again, not trying to force a route on you, just an idea. Overall, I'm impressed.**

 **-I'm pretty sure this is the single biggest review I've ever gotten for one of my stories, which is saying something. I'm really happy about it! Yes, I was definitely influenced by Traveler. It's an incredible story and I greatly admire the author's talent. In regards to Paul, I made him less of an irritation because I approached him as a beginning trainer. He doesn't have the experience to really be arrogant yet, so with that in mind, I figure that in tandem with his role in the story later on will paint a different picture of him.**

 **In regards to "Pokemon have to evolve or else they'll quickly hit a limit" route I took, it's not so much because they hit a limit as it is that they simply mature as they grow. Evolution is just another stage in their personal growth. They don't have to evolve necessarily, (the Pokemon that require trade or items to evolve, for example) but it is a factor in their life cycle. I'm not going to get into the errors or flaws in the anime because the XY series is doing a fantastic job right now (minus the Goodra incident) and I really don't want to jinx anything.**

 **Will Ash be showing any flaws or negative character developments...well yes, but you'll have to keep an eye out for it, as I won't directly address it until later in the story. I would not call him a "badass" at the moment. He did, after all, almost get himself killed during his first real battle against Team Rocket. Ash isn't really powerful enough to be considered a badass now anyways, and you'll see in this chapter that he's still learning about his own Pokemon. Whether he will really ruin something later on is something you'll have to wait and see about.**


	7. Sunny Days

_Chapter Seven: Sunny Days_

"I see you've gotten your hat back," Cynthia commented after Ash released Duskull. She was observing the little ghost with amusement as he snickered. Duskull had been a surprise for them all, but he was friendly to everyone- Pikachu especially. He mentally groaned when he comprehended the pranks that the two of them could come up with once they really started to get along.

Ash smirked and adjusted the hat upon Cynthia mentioning it. "Yeah, I sure did. I didn't expect Duskull to tag along with us, though. You'd think we'd have noticed him by now."

"A lot of ghost Pokemon can hide themselves completely. If he didn't want to be seen, then he made certain of it. I think he was probably just watching you to verify that you were a good trainer."

Duskull nodded and floated over to tap Ash on the forehead. He smiled and poked the ghost type's mask back, prompting Duskull to chuckle and float off again, this time towards Pyro. The only member of the team that their new friend had any aversion to was Sobek- probably because he was a dark type. Ash suspected that Duskull would get over it before long, though. It wasn't like Sobek was openly malicious.

He realized he knew nothing about Duskull before long and quickly pulled out his Pokedex, pointing it at the ghost to initiate the scanning process.

 _Duskull, the Requiem Pokemon. It pursues those it chases wherever they go and passes through walls no matter how thick they may be. Duskull wander throughout the night and gather in numbers during the pitch-black of the new moon._

 _This Duskull is male and knows the moves: Astonish, Disable, Protect, Confuse Ray, and Shadow Sneak. Its ability is Levitate, which allows Duskull to float and maneuver in the air._

Ash considered Duskull's move pool thoughtfully. He mostly knew defensive and status afflicting moves, but had few actual methods of attack. They would have to work on expanding that.

Duskull floated back over to him and stole Ash's hat before he could do anything about it. He smirked as the ghost circled him, wearing his hat in a humorous gesture. Ash held his hand out under the small ghost and watched as Duskull simply levitated above it.

"So, I can see that you want to travel with us," Ash began. "I'm more than happy to bring you along. Would you like a nickname? Some of the others have one."

Duskull nodded. Ash already had a few ideas, so he listen them off for the ghost until they found one that his newest partner liked.

"Spectre."

That made Duskull do a forward flip, which Ash interpreted as excitement. The ghost tapped Ash's forehead, which he wryly returned. "Spectre it is. Glad to have you with us."

He faced the rest of his team and pointed each of them out in turn for Spectre. "Alright, let me introduce you to everyone. That's Pyro,"

The Charmeleon thrashed his tail and spat a gout of flame in the air, getting a snort from Sobek. Spectre floated over to the fire type and tapped the strong red horn on his head. Pyro waved him away a moment later, but the ghost had found out what he wanted, so Ash continued.

"Pikachu,"

Pikachu chittered and waved his paw at Spectre, which the Duskull returned with his wispy arms. The ghost floated around the mouse for a moment and poked his tail. Spectre received an electric surprise however, and recoiled when the pranking shock traveled up his wispy limbs. Pikachu sniggered at his success and grinned at the ghost innocently. Spectre eyed him curiously, then moved on.

"Sobek,"

This was where the Duskull was most hesitant, especially when Sobek bared his fangs and growled loudly, trying to outdo Pyro's show of strength. The Charmeleon was annoyed by that and snapped at him, but didn't attack. Spectre observed Sobek from a few meters away and seemed satisfied with that.

"Eevee,"

Spectre approached Eevee and tapped her forehead immediately. The little normal type looked annoyed, but she was in a good enough mood to make a sound of greeting. Spectre happily floated around her in a circle, depositing Ash's hat on her head before he continued on to the last member of the group. He smirked when Eevee shook herself thoroughly to toss the accessory off and appeared rather miffed.

"And Douse,"

The Poliwhirl waved at Spectre, recognizing him from the Pokemon Tower. Spectre waved back and tapped Douse's spiral pattern. Douse blinked at him and tapped the ghost back on his mask. Spectre made a cheery sound at that, pleased by the action.

Ash smiled at the ghost. "This is our team. We'll add on to it as we travel, but this is everyone for now. I want to become the greatest Pokemon Master in the world and I'll do my best to make you as strong as you can be. How does that sound?"

Spectre nodded and made a hollow cackle. Ash figured that was as good an answer as he would get, so he looked back to Cynthia. "I guess we're ready to go."

She smiled. "Good. Saffron City isn't far away. We'll make it there before noon, I think."

* * *

Ash had passed through Saffron City once before, but the massive city was still just as easy to get lost in as it was before. Fortunately, Cynthia seemed to know where she was going and led him right to the Saffron gym. He stared at the building with curious eyes. This was the residing place of one of Kanto's most powerful Gym Leaders- Sabrina.

He followed Cynthia inside and saw a few people wearing robes of sorts. Ash assumed those were the gym trainers, which was confirmed when he noticed that several of them were working with psychic Pokemon. He could see Abra, Kadabra, Slowpoke, Drowzee, and other psychic types that he'd never seen before.

They made their way to a room in the back that appeared empty. Ash looked around, confused as to why they were there. Weren't they meeting Sabrina?

"You are."

He jumped and spun around to find a woman standing directly behind him. She looked down at Ash with glowing, pinkish-red eyes, though they seemed warm rather than creepy. Short dark hair stopped just past her shoulders, flowing slightly despite there not being any wind in the building.

Cynthia smiled at her. "Hello, Sabrina. I'm assuming you know who this is?"

"Ash Ketchum," she stated, giving Ash another jolt of surprise. Sabrina's eyes took on a curious light. "You've been traveling for three months now. You recently captured a Duskull whom you've named Spectre and will be making your way to Celadon City shortly after this meeting in order to challenge Erika."

Ash gaped at her. It looked like the rumors of Sabrina possessing psychic abilities was true. Still, he hadn't expected her to be able to discern that much information from simply meeting him.

She seemed amused by his disbelief. "I learn many things upon meeting people. My powers allow me to see the past, present, and future to an extent. The bond I have with my Pokemon augments this even further."

Cynthia stepped forward. "I presume you know why I am here?"

"I do. However, I regret to inform you that the Team Rocket Admins you apprehended, Ariana and Proton, have already escaped containment."

"What?!" Ash exclaimed.

Sabrina nodded gravely. "They were broken out of prison six hours ago and have since evaded recapture. It seems Team Rocket required them badly enough to attempt a breakout. The other henchmen detained at Mt. Moon and Pokemon Tower were not freed."

"We'll have to hunt them down again," Cynthia murmured with a frown. She looked at Ash. "I'm afraid this is where we must part. I have to discuss League business with Sabrina and unfortunately that includes information I'm not allowed to disclose to you."

He felt a little put-out by that, but there was nothing to do about it. Ash was just another trainer. The Indigo League was for the elites who kept Kanto and Johto in order. He simply wasn't privy to the secrets that Gym Leaders and Elite Four-Class trainers possessed.

Sabrina glanced at Ash again. "Be careful, Ash Ketchum. There are dangerous times ahead for all of us. Some sooner than others."

Ash didn't know how else to react aside from nod. Seeing as he was no longer privy to their conversation, the young trainer turned and left the gym.

Once he was outside, Ash took a moment to debate his next move. The obvious next step was to go to Celadon City and battle Erika, but he really wanted to get some extra training in as well. He wanted to spend some more time with his team- particularly Eevee and Spectre. Eevee because they had been getting along very well since the little normal type met Cynthia's Glaceon, and Spectre because Ash simply didn't know much about his new ghost.

He frowned to himself thoughtfully. Ash didn't actually know why Spectre had followed him all the way from Lavender Town and sought to be captured by him. The Duskull was an enigma that Ash really wanted to understand better- they would be working together, after all. If Spectre was to become a skilled fighter in his team, then Ash needed to get to know him intimately. Creating a strong bond with his new team mate would help him to understand what made Spectre tick and allow Ash to decide the best way to train him.

Thinking about it a little more, he decided that extra training would be completely necessary. If Ash was going to use Spectre in his battle against Erika, (and perhaps even Eevee if he was lucky) then he needed more than understanding how the Duskull fought. He needed to whip him into shape. Ash didn't even know if Spectre had battled before. He'd incapacitated Team Rocket grunts easily enough, but how would he do against an enemy that would actively dodge and fight back?

Ash pulled out his PokeNav and looked over Route Seven. It was a short route- shorter even than the one they'd taken to get to Saffron. He'd probably only spend a couple of days on it before reaching Celadon, but each day was an extra one he could spend training his team for the battle with Erika.

He nodded to himself and set Pikachu and Eevee loose from their pokeballs. The pair of small Pokemon chittered at him in greeting, then followed their trainer as Ash led the way towards Route Seven and Celadon City. They had work to do and a Gym Leader to fight.

* * *

That evening, he sent his team out for their usual training session. Ash had already set up camp for the night, so now it was time to make sure all of his Pokemon got in a good workout. That always served to tire them out and assure that they would sleep well.

Before releasing them for training, Ash decided to give Douse the Scald TM he'd gotten from Misty. He'd been fortunate enough to receive a TM Case from his mother before he set off on his journey. They were useful tools to trainers and made any TMs usable- without the case, there was no way to apply the move to any of his Pokemon. Essentially, he'd be carrying around a useless disc.

Scald was currently the only TM he had in the case, but that was fine with him. He would pick up more TMs in Celadon City, though whether he would do so before or after fighting Erika was something he hadn't yet made his mind up about. The great thing about TMs was that they could be purchased for either one-use or multiple uses. The multiple-use ones cost a fair bit more, but they were worth it for the trainers who could purchase them. Fortunately, it seemed Misty had given him a Scald TM with multiple uses.

Ash took out the TM Case from his bag and placed Douse's shrunken pokeball in a slot on the top of the device. A small screen next to the slot displayed the Scald TM as the only move available and Ash tapped it quickly. He watched as Douse's pokeball glowed blue for a few moments, then the tiny screen flashed green and said COMPLETE. Ash took Douse's pokeball out of the machine and put in back in his bag. Now he had to see if it worked correctly.

He released his team and got their attention quickly. "Alright guys, you know that we're making our way to Celadon City," Ash began. "Erika is the Gym Leader there. All I know is that she uses grass type Pokemon. Pyro, that means you're going to be the main player for this fight."

Pyro thrashed his tail and spat a small burst of fire into the air, baring sharp fangs in a grin of delight. Ash realized that his starter had never actually been the main fighter of one of their gym battles- Brock and Misty had held huge advantages over him and Sobek had been the star of their fight against Lt. Surge. He'd fought the former Gym Leaders' weaker Pokemon just to even things out and cleaned up Surge's Raichu right after it had battled Pikachu and Douse, but this would really be Pyro's time to shine, his chance to dominate the gym opponents.

"I don't know how many Pokemon Erika is going to use, but chances are she'll probably use a standard team of three. So I want Pyro, Eevee, and Spectre to battle this time."

That got some raised eyebrows and the tilts of several heads. Ash could only imagine what they were thinking about his decision. Considering that every single fight he'd had thus far consisted of using Pyro, Pikachu, Sobek, and Douse, his lineup for this Gym Battle meant he would only be using one of his primary battlers. Ash had never fought with Eevee before and he didn't even know how strong Spectre was.

There were other complications as well.

Eevee was glaring at him, probably because she was not fond of the idea that Ash had decided to use her in battle. His relationship with the normal type was still on shaky ground, but Ash was hoping that their travels together and the recent bonding thanks to Cynthia's Glaceon would make her a bit more compliant.

"Training tonight is going to be pretty simple. Pyro and Douse, you two are working on techniques today. I want Mega Punch mastered before we fight Erika, Pyro. Douse, I'll be with you in a moment to try out Scald. Pikachu, you're sparring with Sobek. Practice Electro Ball and work on your aim while you're at it. Sobek, try to dodge everything he throws at you."

His main fighters sounded their agreements and headed off a short distance away from the camp to begin their training. Ash watched as Pikachu built up an Electro Ball and hurled it at Sobek, only for the croc to dive underground and disappear. He then turned to Eevee and Spectre, inwardly sighing when he saw the normal type looking away pointedly.

"Eevee, please," Ash tried. "Could you at least try training with me? If you really don't want to fight in the gym battle, that's okay, just work with me a little."

She looked at him stiffly and apparently resigned herself to whatever he had in store, because her eyes rolled and she nodded. Ash had a feeling that any training with Eevee would only last until she got tired of putting up with him. That didn't raise his confidence about how well this would go, but at least she was cooperating thus far.

Plus Spectre looked excited about training and that made him feel better.

"Alright, I haven't gotten to really see what either of you can do, so let's see your moves," Ash began. He needed an idea of what they were capable of before deciding on how to start their training. "Eevee, let's start with you."

She rolled her eyes again, but listened without complaint. Ash considered her move pool for a moment before starting out simple. "Alright. Let's start with…"

They ran through Eevee's moves fairly quickly. She didn't have a huge variety of attacks, but she was good at using each one of them. She had a particularly vicious Bite and Ash was always impressed by one of her Shadow Balls. He realized with some anger that she'd probably gotten good at using them to defend herself from whatever horrors she'd been put through at the Pokemon mill Officer Jenny had taken her from.

As they practiced each move, Ash saw Eevee becoming a little more open to the idea of training. It made him grow more hopeful- maybe she was warming up to him.

"That's enough," he told Eevee after she fired a Swift into a tree and left it scarred. The small normal type paused and looked at him. Ash smiled at her proudly. "That was great, Eevee. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one of your attacks."

She almost- _almost_ \- smirked and sat down to groom her somewhat ruffled fur while Ash gave Spectre his turn. The Duskull was watching him expectantly.

"Alright Spectre, let's get started," Ash began slowly. He had to pull out the Pokedex again to remind himself what moves the ghost could use. Spectre was still a big unknown for him, and now was the time to change that. "Show me Protect."

The Duskull's single red eye flashed and then a moment later, a circular green shield erected itself in front of his body. It easily covered him and as could see from the steady glow that it was something Spectre was good at. He nodded. That was one move down.

"Right. Next use…"

Testing out Spectre's moves went by even faster than Eevee's. He didn't want to test out Confuse Ray in front of the others in case it misfired and made them hurt themselves while training. Ash knew that his Disable was just fine- he'd seen how easily Spectre had immobilized the Team Rocket grunts and had full confidence in the ghost's ability to use it well. All he had after that was Astonish and Shadow Sneak, both of which were relatively simple moves.

He frowned. He really needed to expand Spectre's move pool. Astonish and Shadow Sneak were great for catching the opponent off-guard, but they had very limited power and wouldn't be nearly enough to allow the Duskull to actually win any battles. Suddenly, Ash got an idea that might let him kill two birds with one stone.

"Hey, Eevee?" Eevee paused in her grooming and looked back up at Ash. "Would you mind teaching Spectre how to use Shadow Ball?"

Eevee glanced from Ash to the ghost and shrugged. He couldn't say she was eager, but she was willing at least. "Okay, get started on that and see how you do. I have to go check on the others, but I'll be back soon."

Spectre nodded and Eevee shrugged again. Ash figured that was as good as he was going to get from the normal type, so he turned and made his way towards the rest of his team.

* * *

"Alright, Douse, do you think you can use Scald?" Ash asked the water type. Douse bounced up and nodded. Ash couldn't help but smile at the Poliwhirl's enthusiasm. "Show me what you've got."

He glanced around and spotted a small boulder not far away. "Okay, use Scald on that rock!"

Douse faced the boulder and immediately unleashed a blast of steaming hot water, which hit his target perfectly. Ash grinned. There was no question about accuracy, and that was probably due to Scald being so similar to Water Gun- that is, a Water Gun with a temperature hot enough to boil water and burn flesh.

"Great job, Douse!" Ash exclaimed. "That was excellent!"

Douse beat a fist against his round body and gurgled cheerily. Ash was pretty sure he had Scald down no question, which he was grateful for. Usually, TMs required a lot of practice in order to master them because they only transferred the information regarding how to use the moves. Fortunately, Scald was a relatively simple move for a water type to learn- all it really involved was a change in the temperature of water. The actual use of the attack was executed in a manner practically identical to Water Gun, which Douse had mastered prior to Ash capturing him.

Ash was proud of Douse and impressed by how quickly he'd adapted to the new move. He decided to get a little ambitious. "Hey Douse, do you think we can start working on Hydro Pump?"

The gleam in the Poliwhirl's eyes said all that Ash needed to know. Douse looked more than ready to learn the incredibly powerful water type move. Ash grinned and pulled his Pokedex out, searching for a description of Hydro Pump to instruct Douse with.

"Here it is," Ash said excitedly. "Okay…Hydro Pump is like Water Gun, but at the next level. It's basically a huge blast of high-pressure water. Once it's mastered, Hydro Pump can punch through steel plates. So maybe for starters, we should work on how much water you can shoot."

Douse bounced again and faced the same rock he had shot with Scald, which was still steaming a bit. He reared his body back and then unleashed a huge blast of water. Ash watched as the mass of liquid basically drenched everything in sight, but it was so widespread that all it really did was water the plant life.

He stared at the soaked ground and looked at Douse, who looked tired already. Ash hadn't realized how much energy just attempting a single Hydro Pump would take from his friend. Still, the Poliwhirl looked like he could have another go. "Again."

Douse nodded and reared back to repeat the attack. He did so four more times until Douse sat down hard and simply couldn't continue the training.

Ash bit his lip as he surveyed the soaking ground. He had thought that Hydro Pump would be as easy to learn as Scald, but this quickly changed his mind about that. Douse could fire Water Guns all day long, but Hydro Pump needed so much more water and raw power that even five failed attempts like this basically drained Douse of all his strength.

"Take a break, buddy," Ash told Douse as he rubbed the Poliwhirl's moist skin atop his head. "Try to get some of your energy back and then have another go at it."

Douse nodded and then collapsed onto his back, round body heaving from the strain. Ash frowned. It looked like Hydro Pump was really going to take a lot of work.

* * *

"How's it coming, Pyro?" Ash asked his starter.

Pyro spat a gout of flame into the air and growled excitedly. He clenched one of his hands into a fist and Ash grinned when it began to glow white. It looked like Pyro had finally gotten Mega Punch down after weeks of practicing with Douse.

"Let's see what you can do with that," Ash exclaimed eagerly. He looked at a nearby tree that appeared to be dead and pointed at it. "Pyro, Mega Punch!"

The Charmeleon glared at the tree like it was an affront to his existence and snarled, then lunged at it with a burst of speed. He curled his glowing fist back and smashed it into the hard wood.

Ash blinked as splinters flew through the air. There was a huge groan of creaking wood, then the tree fell over with a mighty crash. His jaw fell open slightly and the rest of his training Pokemon stopped what they were doing to stare at the destruction. He knew that Mega Punch was a strong move after watching Douse use it countless times, but he hadn't expected Pyro to do _that_ with a single hit.

"Pyro, that was awesome!" Ash shouted.

The Charmeleon let out a roar of victory and breathed more intense flames into the air. Ash grinned at the sight. He had really been debating which of his Pokemon was the strongest, but there was no question after that display. Barring Sobek when his Moxie was activated, Pyro held more raw power than any other member of his team.

He watched Pyro's tail flame flare and blinked at the intense white core in the fire. Ash knew that Pyro would take a good while longer to evolve, but seeing the flame on his tail getting stronger and hotter was a sign that Pyro had progressed far beyond where he had been when he first evolved from Charmander. His success with Mega Punch and improvement on Dragon Rush were testaments to that.

Ash grinned widely. He couldn't wait for Pyro to evolve into one of the infamous Charizard he'd seen on TV. They were notorious for their fiery tempers and lust for battle, not to mention they were relentless fighters- it simply wasn't in their nature to hold back against an enemy. Champion Lance's Charizard was the pinnacle of their breed as far as Ash knew, capable of defeating even dragon types with its monstrous strength. Maybe one day Pyro would reach that level of power as well.

But that was a dream for the future. Ash needed to focus on the present. He smiled at his starter and decided to return him to training. "Pyro, start working on Dragon Rush again. Keep up the exercises Garchomp had you doing and…"

* * *

Ash returned to Eevee and Spectre after giving Pyro his next set of instructions. He'd checked in on Pikachu and Sobek, but there was really nothing else he could do with them at the moment. Their training was more about aim and evasion- all he could really do was tell them to keep working hard.

"I'm back, guys" Ash said as he approached the pair of small Pokemon.

Spectre floated over and tapped his forehead, which Ash mimicked by touching the ghost's skull mask. He glanced at Eevee and saw that she was grooming herself again, although she did look a little tired.

"Eevee, how'd it go?"

Eevee looked at him pointedly and jerked her head at Spectre before returning to grooming herself. Ash frowned at that. Maybe she was feeling less cooperative now that she was feeling tired. Still, she'd worked hard so he couldn't complain. He'd give her the break she wanted.

Instead, he turned to Spectre. "Did you figure it out, buddy?"

Spectre spun his floating body sideways and made a noise that Ash thought was somewhat confused. He glanced at the tree they'd been using for target practice and pointed at it. "Let's try it out. Use Shadow Ball."

Spectre floated over and pushed his wispy limbs in front of his body. Ash smiled as a small, black sphere of ghostly energy was formed, though it was obviously much weaker than Eevee's Shadow Ball. The Shadow Ball was launched and seemed to be heading in the right direction, but halfway there it broke up and disappeared.

The Duskull sagged and his single red eye leered at the spot where his attack had vanished with annoyance. Ash smirked slightly at the expression and looked back at the tree. "Again."

* * *

Ash ran into Paul just before he entered Celadon.

He was relieved by how close the city was, mostly because after three days of travel, he was well and truly ready to hit the hay in a good bed at the Pokemon Center. It was almost evening and Ash wanted nothing more than to give his team to Nurse Joy for a checkup and pass out for the night. They'd battled more trainers on the way here than he cared to count and trained relentlessly whenever they camped.

He actually would have preferred to avoid a battle since they were so close to the city, but when Ash caught sight of Paul training in a clearing just a quarter mile away from Celadon, he had to go meet the other trainer. Ash called to get his attention, but that was unnecessary- Paul's Grotle was facing Ash and grunted at his trainer.

Paul turned and arched an eyebrow in surprise. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I was actually just about to get into Celadon," Ash told him as he walked over. "Then I saw you training. Sorry if I interrupted you, but I wanted to see how much stronger you'd gotten."

Grotle made a deep growling sound. His rival smirked. "A fight then, is it?"

Pikachu sniggered and Ash grinned right back. "If you think you're up to it."

"Three on three, same conditions as last time," Paul declared immediately.

Ash nodded and stepped back a few paces. Once they were each a good distance apart, he scratched Pikachu's ears and jerked his thumb towards the field. "Get in there, buddy."

Pikachu leapt onto the ground and sparks flew from his cheek pouches while the mouse sniggered.

"Nidorino, standby for battle," Paul muttered as he took out a pokeball and threw it. From within the confines of the capture device came a large, pink Pokemon with a large horn and many sharp spikes all over its back. Ash eyed it curiously. He'd seen Gary's Nidorina before, but Nidorino was a new one for him.

"Avoid the horn and those spikes," he told Pikachu slowly as he assessed the danger. "If you have to get in close, stay on its flanks."

Pikachu's ears flicked to acknowledge that he'd heard Ash, then the battle began.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. Pikachu's cheeks sparked again, then he unleashed a large electric shock which cracked towards Nidorino. The attack was made with such speed that the other, slower Pokemon was unable to avoid it and took the Thunderbolt head-on. Nidorino shook the pain away and growled angrily, spines flexing and dripping with toxins as he glared at Pikachu.

Paul didn't seem fazed by the damage. "Poison Sting. When it gets close, Focus Jab."

Nidorino's huge ears twitched as his mouth opened. The poison type spat a barrage of poisonous quills at his opponent, seeking to put his lethal venom to good use. Pikachu leapt aside from the first series of needles and continued to run in order to avoid being hit, but Nidorino's aim was good. It was strafing the Poison Sting so that it might eventually hit Pikachu.

Ash wasn't about to let that happen. "Agility! Get on its flank and wind up an Electro Ball!"

Pikachu slipped into Agility with a blur of speed, causing Paul's eyes to widen fractionally. He apparently hadn't anticipated that kind of speed, but his surprise was quickly dismissed. "Protect!"

As Pikachu jumped into the air and charged a sphere of electrical energy around his tail, Nidorino spun to face the mouse and erected a green, circular shield in front of him. Ash frowned at that. It looked like Paul had gotten his hands on TMs. That meant his other Pokemon probably had some tricks up their sleeves to give him trouble.

Ash watched as Pikachu built up Electro Ball and winced at how rough it looked. Pikachu was still having trouble concentrating electricity into finite amounts. They really needed to work on that. Not that it mattered- once the Electro Ball was hurled from Pikachu's tail, it crashed uselessly against Nidorino's Protect and fizzled out.

Paul took advantage of the fact that Pikachu was still airborne immediately. "Focus Jab."

Nidorino tensed suddenly and Ash saw energy glowing at the horn. He recognized the technique as Focus Energy. It was a relatively simple move- the Pokemon simply concentrated its power on one part of its body in order to deliver a particularly powerful attack. Some people made the mistake of assuming that it was a way for the Pokemon to focus better in combat, but that was just instinct for almost every species.

Paul knew better. The other trainer had evidently done his homework regarding his team and knew the best ways for them to fight.

Nidorino lunged at Pikachu and struck the electric mouse directly in the center of his body just inches from the ground, making Ash wince as Pikachu was sent flying in the opposite direction with a squeal of pain. He saw blood flowing from where the point of the horn had stabbed at the mouse, but he doubted it was a deep wound given that Pikachu managed to recover a few seconds after hitting the ground. If Nidorino had been aiming to kill, Pikachu would not have risen from such a clean hit. That being said, it was more than likely that the poison type's venomous spike had delivered its toxins into Pikachu's body. Now they were on a time limit.

Ash made a quick mental note to avoid presenting Nidorino with another opening like that and snapped his next orders. "Thunder Wave! Circle it with Agility and use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu fired a small wave of electricity at Nidorino in an effort to paralyze it, but the poison type formed a quick Protect to absorb the status afflicting-technique harmlessly. Undeterred by the failure, Pikachu blurred around his opponent and unleashed a furious Thunderbolt the second that Protect faded. Nidorino roared angrily as the bolt crashed into the left side of his body. He had definitely felt that. Despite the poison type's tough skin, Ash knew that a strong enough shock would hurt Nidorino. Paul had trained it well, but there was no way to make it completely impervious to electric attacks until it evolved.

Apparently, Paul recognized this because he immediately went back on the offensive. "Finish it off with Venoshock."

Nidorino's mouth opened and it spat a nasty, glowing green liquid at Pikachu. Ash didn't have to tell the mouse to avoid it. He didn't know anything about that particular move, but he seriously doubted that any attack with a name like Venoshock would be harmless. He would have to keep Pikachu at a distance and hammer their opponent with Thunderbolts.

Unfortunately, that plan was useless given that Pikachu was evidently getting weaker and weaker as Nidorino's potent venom worked its way through his body. Ash would have to go for broke.

"Volt Tackle!"

Paul's eyes narrowed, but he didn't react as Pikachu cloaked himself in a veil of lightning, then blitzed at Nidorino. Ash thought for a moment that the other trainer simply couldn't think of a way to react until he barked. "Protect!"

Pikachu smashed into the green barrier with such force that he was knocked out instantly upon impact- as though he'd run head-on into a brick wall. Ash recalled Pikachu with a dumbfounded expression. It took him a second to fully recognize what it was Paul had done, which was to actually turn Protect into a move that could inflict damage. _Protect_ of all things. It was literally the prime example of a purely defensive move and Paul had flipped the whole technique around.

Despite the loss, Ash had to give him credit- that was brilliant.

Nidorino snorted as Paul returned him to his pokeball. The boy seemed unaffected by his first victory and released his second Pokemon. "Cubone, standby for battle."

The next Pokemon that appeared was another first for Ash. Cubone was a small, reptilian creature with a large skull covering its face. No one really knew what lay beneath the mask, but every Cubone had one. It also had a small bone club that was its primary method of attack. Ash contemplated his next move.

He sent out Pyro. The Charmeleon thrashed his tail aggressively and roared at his smaller opponent, who seemed a little wary of the flame lizard.

Paul's eyes gleamed with what might have been a flicker of excitement. "Bone Club."

Cubone brandished its weapon and started to run at Pyro, who snarled a challenge. Ash decided that keeping the small creature at a distance would probably nullify most of its attacks and keep Pyro from taking any super-effective damage. "Use Flamethrower! Keep it away from you."

Pyro unleashed a blast of fire, which Cubone just barely dodged. The Charmeleon followed his target with the flame still burning, intent on hitting the charging ground type. Cubone continued to run, but it was no longer getting closer to Pyro as avoiding the flames became a priority.

"Rock Tomb!" Paul suddenly ordered. "Trap it and use Bone Rush!"

Cubone suddenly smashed its club into the ground and Ash felt the earth waver slightly. A moment later, Pyro roared with surprise as a circle of rocks erupted from the ground around him and pinned him with painful force. Cubone's club glowed after its opponent was trapped and lunged again.

"Metal Claw!" Ash said frantically. "Get out of there!"

Pyro growled and strained to move enough to execute his trainer's orders. Just as Cubone leaped up to take a swing at the fire type's head, Pyro managed to dig metallic claws into the rocks and slashed them away. Cubone lashed out with Bone Rush, but its now freed target ducked under the swing, causing the attacker to overextend awkwardly in the air.

Ash grinned wildly and seized his chance. "Flamethrower!"

Cubone was consumed in the blast of fire that Pyro unleashed, the fire type roaring his fury at the other Pokemon. The ground type was propelled several meters away and hit the ground harshly. It struggled to get back up, but Pyro spat another gout of flame to keep it down.

"Finish this with Mega Punch!" He commanded. His blood was pumping with excitement.

Pyro clenched his fist and lunged at Cubone while the weakened ground type was still down. It had just enough time to look up as Pyro's glowing fist crashed into its small body and sent it flying in the opposite direction. Cubone actually sailed past its trainer before it hit the ground, this time without the strength to get up.

Paul recalled it without a word and looked back at Pyro, who spat a fireball into the air in victory. The boy smirked despite his loss. "I see your Charmeleon is as powerful as ever."

"He's gotten a lot stronger, that's for sure," Ash agreed. Pyro stalked over and made a light vibration in his throat as Ash scratched the fire type's chin. He recalled his starter a moment later and grabbed his third pokeball.

Douse appeared and cracked his knuckles eagerly, always ready for a good fight. Paul considered the water type for a moment and Ash frowned when a ghost of a smile touched the other boy's face.

His eyes widened at the Tentacruel that appeared on the field, supporting its watery body on dozens powerful tentacles. Ash had seen Tentacool floating in the water along the coast, but he'd never seen its notoriously aggressive evolved form. They were made almost entirely of water and never stopped growing. Once they reached about twenty feet long, which was considered quite large by the standards of their species, they would descend into the abyss of the ocean and live out the rest of their long lives in the blackness. Ash had heard that the biggest Tentacruel ever recorded had tentacles that were something like forty feet long, big enough to combat even something as huge as a Gyarados. The whole beast itself had been a gargantuan sixty feet.

From the size of this one, Ash guessed it had only recently evolved, but that didn't mean it was weak. The creature was still almost six feet tall and practically reeked aggression. He really had no idea how to handle this Pokemon. He'd fought Tentacool before, but they were considerably weaker and had only two tentacles to fight with. This was far, far different.

He decided to start the fight at a distance. "Mud Shot. Stay away from it and avoid the tentacles at all costs. It'll probably try to poison you."

Douse nodded and immediately spat a blast of mud at Tentacruel. Paul did nothing as the jellyfish retaliated with a blast of water that dissolved the oncoming attack with ease. Tentacruel then raised a few of its tentacles and fired shots of glowing violet acid.

"Dodge it!" Ash commanded. "Keep using Mud Shot!"

Douse followed his orders quickly. The Poliwhirl began to leap away from each shot of acid and spat mud whenever he could, but each attempt was thwarted by Tentacruel shooting water to counter the Mud Shots. Ash chewed his lip as the fight came to a stalemate, trying to think of some way to overcome the creature facing them.

Paul apparently beat him to the punch. "Get in close and use Wrap."

Tentacruel suddenly bent its tentacles into a crouch, then pushed off with incredible force. Ash's eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected burst of speed, which caught both himself and Douse completely off-guard. Before he could react, the jellyfish had Douse wrapped tightly in its tentacles, immobilizing him completely.

"Acid Spray," Paul ordered. "Then smash it."

Tentacruel made a deep gurgling sound and drenched Douse in the violet acid it had been firing unsuccessfully beforehand. Douse struggled frantically to escape, but he was no match for the countless tentacles immobilizing him. Ash could only watch helplessly. There was no way Douse could get away from such an opponent.

The jellyfish raised its tentacles and crushed Douse into the ground. Ash thought that was it, but the Poliwhirl stubbornly pushed himself back onto his feet, glaring at the Tentacruel that was beating him as if he were nothing but a tiny Poliwag.

Paul didn't have to give Tentacruel any further orders because it was apparently annoyed by its opponent surviving. Ash saw about a dozen of its tentacles glow and stab forward at Douse with Poison Jab, but he recalled his Pokemon before they could impact. The venomous move hit the ground and killed the grass where it touched instantly, leaving a large patch of dead plant life where Douse had been. Tentacruel retracted its tentacles and leered at Ash for taking away its prey, but it seemed satisfied with its victory.

Ash watched as Paul recalled Tentacruel. The other boy didn't even look happy that he'd won.

"So the score is 1-1," Paul said finally. "Make sure you're stronger next time. Tentacruel isn't even my most powerful Pokemon."

Ash nodded, his fists clenched. He wasn't really angry from the loss, but it was an odd feeling that he didn't experience often or especially liked. He'd only lost a few times beforehand, and those losses were to trainers that had been training a lot longer than he had. Paul really had gotten much stronger. The fights against Nidorino and Cubone had been pretty similar to their first battle, but Tentacruel's easy victory had taken him by surprise. And if Tentacruel wasn't even Paul's strongest Pokemon…

He mentally checked himself. He would simply have to get stronger. A lot stronger, if Paul was to be believed and the monster of a Tentacruel wasn't the greatest threat on his team. Ash would put money on his strongest being Grotle or maybe Elekid if it had evolved.

"We'll be stronger next time," Ash responded. "That's a promise. I have to give you credit, I didn't expect Tentacruel to be that strong."

Paul smirked. "I captured her in Vermillion and evolved her before challenging the Celadon Gym. She turned out to be worth raising."

 _"She?"_ He echoed in surprise. "Tentacruel's a girl?"

"Of course. The females of their breed are the most aggressive," Paul said as if it were obvious. When Ash just blinked, he frowned. "Right, that information isn't in the Pokedex. My brother is a breeder. That's how I know. He's raised Tentacruel before and it was always the females that were the most powerful because they guard their nests ferociously. She defeated two of Erika's Pokemon."

"I bet she did. No one's beaten Douse that easily since Lt. Surge's Raichu."

"That Raichu really was a monster, wasn't it?" Paul admitted. "We defeated it, though."

Ash blinked in surprise. "You got the Thunder Badge, too?"

"Yeah. Just a couple of weeks ago. I didn't get into Vermillion until then because I took a detour through the Rock Tunnel past Cerulean City," he explained. "That's where I captured Cubone. He beat Surge's Raichu once Grotle tired it out."

"I just went straight through Saffron. I did end up going to Lavender Town after I beat Surge, though, so I could catch a ghost type."

"Did you get one?"

"Yeah," he replied. "A Duskull."

Paul considered that. "You've got your work cut out for you. They grow slowly. If I were you, I'd try to battle with it every chance you get."

Ash looked at his rival curiously. "Why are you helping me?"

The other boy was quiet for a moment before he shrugged. "Frankly, I want to fight trainers that can give me a challenge. You remind me of my brother- he's soft and irritating, but he _is_ strong. He won the Silver Conference a few years ago before retiring early to become a breeder. I think you can get stronger than him."

"Why's that?"

Paul smirked. "Because you don't seem like the type to settle down after you reach your goal. What kind of master goes soft once they stand at the summit?"

That made Ash grin. "I suppose one that doesn't have the guts to keep going."

"Exactly," Paul's eyes gleamed. "You're good for someone our age. Most of the new scrubs aren't going to even get past Surge. Only a few will reach the Indigo League. I'm pretty sure you'll make it, but I won't acknowledge a weak rival. If a little advice makes you stronger, then maybe I'll get a better fight later on."

It made sense, Ash surmised. He would be disappointed if Gary or Leaf turned out to be weak when they met in the Indigo Conference. He'd never really considered giving rival trainers advice before, but maybe it was something he could do more often if he felt he could help- after all, training would get boring if every foe he faced was too weak to be a challenge.

"Anyways," Paul continued. "I need to get back to training."

"Okay. I'll leave you to it," Ash replied, then turned and left his rival for Celadon City.

* * *

Once Ash got his team to Nurse Joy at the Pokemon Center in Celadon, he was torn in his next decision. He could challenge Erika anytime of the day. Celadon's gym apparently wasn't very difficult and he had no doubt that Pyro, Eevee, and Spectre could win a battle against her. He might even be able to beat all her grass types with Pyro alone. But he wasn't arrogant enough to believe that his starter would be all he needed to crush a Gym Leader.

He was really debating going to the department store first and buying some TMs for his team. That would give most of his team the versatility they needed. Sobek, Eevee, and Spectre were the ones most in need of new attacks.

The final deciding factor was the fact that he intended to use Eevee and Spectre in the gym battle against Erika, and both of them would need some new moves. The problem was Spectre needed to focus on learning Shadow Ball and Ash didn't want to divide his efforts between two different moves. Helping Eevee learn a new move would help improve their relationship.

Ash walked to the counter and told Nurse Joy he was going out. She would be working on his team and all the other trainers' Pokemon for a while, so he had plenty of time to go out and get the TMs he would need.

* * *

An hour later and he was still staring at the huge selection of TMs at the Celadon Department Store. He knew that they were the leading business in Kanto when it came to selling trainer equipment, but he had not expected the walls to literally be stacked to the ceiling with technical machines. Ash couldn't decide on which moves he wanted.

The only one he'd picked out for sure was Iron Tail. It was a steel type move that he could teach to Eevee and Pikachu to give them some much-needed versatility. He'd picked out the reusable version of the TM- though it was $1,000 more- so he could use it again if he needed to. If he really wanted to, he might even teach it to Pyro or Sobek if he felt they could use it.

Ash grabbed the first Stone Edge TM he saw. It was a one-time use TM, but that was fine seeing as the rest of his team had no use for it at the moment. Sobek was in dire need of some added versatility and Ash had been wanting to give him Stone Edge for a while now. The rock type move would help him fight aerial opponents as well as the ice and bug types he was vulnerable to.

Douse would be getting Ice Beam. It was a powerful attack that would help him fight off the grass types which held a natural advantage against him. Ash was going to purchase the one-time use version of Ice Beam because frankly, he didn't have any other Pokemon that could use the move right now besides Douse and it was quite expensive to boot.

He was unsure what to get Pyro. The Dragon Claw TM was practically screaming his name, but Ash knew already that Pyro was having enough trouble learning Dragon Rush. Putting another dragon type move on top of that and the still-unmastered Dragon Dance would probably just frustrate the fire type. Ash didn't want that. He needed to pick out a move that Pyro wouldn't have quite as much trouble learning.

Ash ended up selecting Brick Break. The fighting type move would help Pyro combat other dark types and also give him an edge against any of the rock types they met later on. It also had an added effect of destroying defensive barriers like Light Screen and Reflect. He picked out the reusable copy of that TM. Ash intended to give Brick Break to Douse as well, but he felt like it would be better for each member of his team to focus on just one move at a time.

That was all he could afford for the time being. He simply didn't have the funds to purchase any extra TMs, especially given that he hadn't yet restocked his supply of medicine. Ash brought the four TMs to the counter and the clerk got him out in good time. He then made his way downstairs to get the rest of the supplies he would need- Celadon Department Store did, after all, sell basically everything a trainer could need.

* * *

By the time he got back to the Pokemon Center, Ash was pretty sure his wallet would be crying if it could, but he didn't care. He still had enough funds to keep him going and that was just more incentive to beat down a few extra trainers on the road. Besides, now was no time to think about money- he had moves to give to his team. It was dark outside by now, but all of his earlier exhaustion was forgotten. He was just too excited to go to sleep.

Ash got his Pokemon back from Nurse Joy and practically ran out of the city to a clearing not far off from where Paul had been training. He didn't know if the other boy was still working with his team, but that didn't matter right now. Ash pulled out his TM Case and added the new discs to it before starting the process that would give his Pokemon their new weapons.

He set Pikachu and Eevee's pokeballs in the case first and immediately selected the Iron Tail TM. Ash grinned the whole time as he watched their pokeballs glow a metallic silver. Next was Pyro, who got Brick Break. Then Douse with Ice Beam and Sobek with Stone Edge. Once he'd gotten knowledge of all the new moves transferred to his team's brains, Ash set them loose.

"Okay, guys," Ash began, a wide grin still on his face. "So I'm sure that you know by now that you've got some new moves, right?"

Pyro clenched his claws and let out an eager growl. Pikachu snickered, cheeks sparking while his tail flexed slightly. Eevee inspected her tail with a little more interest than normal and Douse cracked his knuckles. Sobek bared his fangs in a snarl and hissed with delight.

Spectre seemed a little confused, but Ash filled him. "You're still working on Shadow Ball, buddy. Once you master that, then I'll get you a new move of your own."

That made the Duskull excited apparently, because he did a few flips in the air and settled on Pyro's head, though the Charmeleon snapped at him with annoyance.

"None of that," Ash stopped them quickly. His team paid rapt attention to him. "We're going to spend just a few minutes on your new moves. I want to make sure you know how to use them correctly, okay?"

A chorus of growls, chirps, and gurgles answered him. Ash nodded. "Okay, then. Pyro, you're first."

Pyro stepped forward, tail flame flaring while he waited eagerly for his trainer's orders. Ash looked around the dark clearing and pointed at a rock about the size of a small car. "Use Brick Break!"

The Charmeleon glared at the stone and immediately lunged at it, clenching his fist and bringing it up above his head. He swung down in a vertical chop and smashed the top of the target, spreading cracks along the surface with the groaning of broken stone.

Ash grinned. It wouldn't have quite the same effect on a rock type yet, but it was still obviously powerful. "Good job, buddy. Pikachu, Eevee, you two are next."

Pikachu didn't actually wait for Ash to give him a command. Instead, he charged the same rock Pyro had attacked and jumped into the air. His tail glowed a metallic silver and, with a forward flip, he smashed it into the stone.

Ash blinked with surprise as the Iron Tail almost chopped its target in half. His grin widened. "That was great, Pikachu!"

Pikachu sniggered and Pyro spat a small flame at him for the mouse's attempt to one-up him, but Pikachu darted out of the way, much to the Charmeleon's irritation. Ash didn't both intervening since it wasn't escalating into a fight.

"Eevee, your turn," Ash offered her.

Eevee actually looked fairly interested and quickly rushed their target. She performed a similar jump and flip to Pikachu, driving the Iron Tail into the stone. It was obviously weaker than Pikachu's, seeing as Eevee hadn't been training as intensely as the rest of his team, but there was enough punch to it for Ash to almost feel sorry for any rock type unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of Eevee's Iron Tail.

When she padded back to the group with her head held high, obviously proud of herself, Ash knelt and scratched under her chin. "Good girl."

Eevee soaked up the attention for a few seconds before sitting down and watching Douse take her place.

"Ice Beam!" Ash commanded.

Douse beat his round body with a white fist before focusing for a second. As they watched, a sphere of glowing, icy-blue energy gathered in front of him, then was unleashed into three bolts at the stone. The rock was frozen instantly, breaking further as the ice filled in all the cracks and expanded them.

Ash nodded. "Nice work, Douse."

Sobek, like Pikachu, didn't even bother waiting for orders. The croc thrashed his tail and immediately smashed a fist at the ground.

The team froze in surprise as spires of sharp rock punched out of the earth in a trail leading to the target, which was split clean in half by the Stone Edge. The whole process took a few seconds, but Ash bet that when it hit an enemy Pokemon, it would leave a mark not soon forgotten.

"Excellent, Sobek!" He exclaimed.

Sobek growled, eyeing his trail of destruction with evident satisfaction in his gleaming onyx eyes. Ash glanced at Spectre, who had been watching with the others. He smiled at the small ghost.

"Spectre, do you want to have another go at Shadow Ball?"

Spectre nodded and floated forward, pushing his two wispy limbs out in front of him. Ash watched patiently as the Shadow Ball was formed, though it still took several seconds. They'd made some progress on it in the last few days, though the success rate was only 50/50 at best.

He watched as Spectre fired the Shadow Ball, launching it at the (now destroyed) target. Ash smiled as the ghost type move made it to the stone and exploded, though it was still a good bit weaker than Eevee's comparatively more powerful Shadow Ball. That was fine with him, though. Spectre was making good progress and he couldn't ask for more than that.

"Good job, Spectre," Ash told him. The ghost floated over and tapped his forehead with delight, which Ash mimicked as usual. He glanced at his team and nodded to himself. "Alright, I'd say that's enough for tonight. We'll be working on those moves more as we travel to make sure we master them to the best of our abilities, but for now, we can rest. And tomorrow, we're going to challenge Erika. Pyro, Eevee, Spectre, I hope you three are ready."

Pyro breathed a stream of fire into the air and growled, dark eyes shining with a lust for battle. Spectre seemed excited as well, albeit not quite as eager as Pyro was. Eevee simply nodded, neither excited nor disappointed. Ash felt like he was really beginning to make progress with her.

"Anyways, let's get back to the Pokemon Center. I don't know about all of you, but I'm ready to sleep."

* * *

The next morning, Ash found himself standing in front of the Celadon City Gym. He looked up at the average sized building with determined eyes. He was walking out of here with a gym badge. Erika wasn't going to beat him.

He walked inside and immediately had to stop himself from gagging. An overwhelming, noxious scent filled his nose and made his eyes water. Ash had never smelled anything so disgusting in his life. He wasn't even sure how he managed to make it to the front desk.

A female attendant at the desk smirked at him with some amusement. "It gets better with a little time. Just breathe."

Ash didn't bother replying. He took a few deep breaths, wincing at the smell still pervading his senses. After a minute or so, he adapted to it as best he could and looked at the smirking attendant with a little embarrassment. "I'm here for a gym battle."

"I figured. You don't look like you'd be interested in our perfume line," she giggled. Ash didn't know how to respond to that, but the attendant didn't give him a chance to reply. Instead, she dialed a number into the phone on the desk and lifted it to her ear. There was a brief pause, then she spoke into the device. "We've got a challenger here. Wake up Erika."

She hung up and Ash frowned. "Wake her up? Who would be sleeping at this time of day?"

"Erika would be," the attendant giggled. She gestured to a door on the side of the front desk for him to go through. "She's a bit lazier than the other Gym Leaders, but she's no less powerful for it. Good luck."

"Thanks," Ash replied, then made his way to the door.

The smell only intensified as Ash stepped into the main part of the gym and he took a moment to simply breathe and recover his burning senses. His nose stung and his eyes were still watering. He had some vague thought that there was probably a really powerful Gloom or something like it creating the noxious scent, but it smelled too bad for him to really focus on it.

He walked down a small path towards the field, glancing to the sides as he did so. The gym was designed like a huge greenhouse, with plants all over the place and glass panels for the ceiling. Ash assumed that was for Erika's grass type Pokemon- they thrived on solar power and direct sunlight probably amplified their strength.

Once he reached the challenger's side of the field, Ash saw a beautiful, soft-featured teenage girl in a floral kimono waiting for him. She was rubbing her eyes tiredly, as if she had just woken up. He assumed that was Erika, especially when a tenant of hers came running over with a trio of pokeballs in her hands.

Erika looked up at him with bleary eyes and offered a smile. "Well, hello there. I am Erika, the Gym Leader of Celadon Gym. So you're my challenger, are you?"

"Yes," he responded politely. "My name is Ash. I have three gym badges."

"Three?" Erika echoed, inspecting him with practiced eyes. "You seem like a new trainer…Did you start your journey recently?"

"Yes," Ash nodded. "I started traveling about three months ago, give or take a week. The last Gym Leader we beat was Lt. Surge."

Her eyes glinted with interest. "You defeated Surge? You're like the other boy that defeated me the day before yesterday, then. This battle should be worth my time."

Ash presumed she was talking about Paul when she mentioned another male trainer (especially one as young as himself). He nodded and Erika's lips curled into something like a smirk. "I think I'm going to have some fun with you. Referee, begin your announcements!"

"Yes, my lady!" A young woman bowed to Erika and quickly made her way to the referee's stand halfway across the field. "This Celadon Gym match will now begin. It will be a three on three battle and will end when all of one side's Pokemon are unable to continue. Furthermore, there are to be no substitutions. The challenger may have the first attack."

Erika tapped the release on her first pokeball and set loose a Gloom. Ash did his best not to gag as the smell got even worse. He couldn't believe that Erika was unaffected completely by the scent- did she even have a sense of smell after training Gloom for so long?

He managed to grab Spectre's pokeball and released the ghost type onto the field. Spectre eyed Gloom curiously and glanced at Ash with his single red orb. Ash smiled at him. "You're in a gym battle, Spectre. Let's see what you've got, okay?"

Spectre did a flip in the air and made a hollow cackle. The sight made Erika giggle. "This is a funny little one, wouldn't you say, Gloom?"

The grass type on her side of the field didn't react to the ghost and yawned. Apparently, its personality matched that of its trainer's.

"Begin!" Declared the referee, slashing her hand down.

"Shadow Sneak!" Ash commanded immediately. "Get in close and use Astonish if you see an opening."

Spectre dove at the nearest shadow and disappeared. Shadow Sneak allowed the user to merge their bodies into a shadow in order to make a quick surprise attack on the opponent. A Pokemon could use its own shadow to disappear, but it required more energy to maintain your own shadow than it did to just piggyback on another. There were plenty of shadows around the field thanks to the surrounding trees. Moreover, it was the only way Spectre could move especially fast- the ghost type simply couldn't float at a very high speed.

Gloom got a nasty surprise as Spectre appeared at its feet and rammed his skull mask into the grass type's face. It sputtered and backed up, only a little injured, but certainly surprised. Spectre's mask glowed a ominous purple-gray as he tried to follow up with Astonish, but Erika wasn't having any of it.

"Blow it away with Petal Blizzard, then use Sunny Day!"

Spectre made a hollow sound of surprise as a gale of sharp flower petals met his attempt at Astonish head-on. Gloom's attack was far stronger than the ghost type's and sent Spectre spiraling through the air until he was all the way back on Ash's side of the field.

"Are you okay, Spectre?" He demanded. Spectre looked at him and nodded. That was one thing about Spectre that Ash was grateful for- even if he wasn't particularly fast or strong, his wispy body and skull mask were incredibly tough. It took a lot to actually hurt the little ghost.

Before he could dish out another command, Gloom fired a glowing sphere into the air from its bulb, which lined up with the sun and spread harsh sunlight over the whole battlefield. Ash felt the temperature rise and mentally cursed when the shadows over the field disappeared. Now Spectre would have to use more of his energy if he needed to move quickly.

On the other hand, Gloom looked positively fired up. It was actually jumping up and down like it had had one too many shots of espresso. He didn't know much about Gloom itself, but he was plenty aware that grass types got a lot stronger when exposed to powerful sunlight. If its ability was something like Solar Power or Chlorophyll, that would give it an unforgiving power boost.

He frowned. Suddenly this fight was looking a lot harder.

Erika was smiling across the field and he was certain it was because she knew she had the whole battlefield under her control. She raised her hand with a flourish of her kimono and instigated the next stage of the fight. "Toxic Bomb!"

Gloom suddenly blurred away with shocking speed and appeared to Spectre's left. Ash barely had time to react before the grass type pointed its bulb at the ghost and fired a noxious ball of sludge. "Protect!"

The green energy shield materialized literally as the sludge was airborne between them. Spectre leered at Gloom for the surprise attack, but had no chance to counter as it continued to rapid fire the venomous concoctions at him.

Ash bit his lip. He was certain now that Gloom's ability was Chlorophyll. It was the only explanation for the insane bursts of speed he was seeing from Gloom. Erika probably had her whole strategy centered around judicious use of Sunny Day and Chlorophyll to give her Pokemon a deadly advantage. The added boost would let her team annihilate enemies with toxins while avoiding all other attacks with that ungodly speed.

He was trying to come up with a strategy when Spectre's Protect gave way and the ghost took a clean hit from the sludge blasts Gloom was still firing. Spectre made a hollow sound of distress and floated away, trying to avoid any further attacks. Strangely though, Gloom had stopped attacking after hitting its opponent. Ash frowned at the confusing move until Spectre's body glowed purple and began to shake violently.

Poison. Ash's Pokemon had been poisoned before, but it was nothing like this. Usually, the toxins would wear down a Pokemon gradually as the battle progressed. This venom almost seemed to be actively attacking Spectre.

It had to be Toxic, a poison type move that delivered an especially lethal dose of venom. Most poisons were used in a fixed amount that would slowly whittle away at a Pokemon's strength. Toxic was different. Its poison actually drew from the target's own energy reserves to multiply itself. One dose quickly grew into two, then four, and so on. A self-replicating poison that actively assaulted the enemy's body.

Many trainers hated Toxic, and with good reason. Once a Pokemon was poisoned by the move, it didn't matter how powerful they were- if they couldn't heal themselves of the poison or were immune to it, they would faint in a matter of minutes. Even Pokemon on the level of the Elite Four were vulnerable to the technique, though most of them could rid themselves of the poison quickly. It was a popular move in the higher ranks of trainers for its deadly efficiency, but if a Pokemon wasn't treated quickly, Toxic could be fatal. For that matter, any poison had the potential to kill, but Toxic was infamous for claiming more victims than any other poison type moves.

The only downside of Toxic was that it was difficult to aim because building that unique cocktail of venoms took a great deal of concentration. Erika had seemingly mixed it with Sludge Bomb to increase the chance of hitting an enemy. It was a brilliant combination and all the more lethal.

"We've got to finish this fast, Spectre!" Ash shouted. The ghost nodded and winced as Toxic surged through his body again. Ash knew they didn't have much time, so he went for a move he really hadn't wanted to rely on until Erika had whipped out Toxic. "Confuse Ray!"

Spectre's single red eye glowed a bright, ominous red that washed eerie crimson light over the field. Erika, however, wasn't about to let him get away with confusing her Pokemon.

"Gloom, use Petal Blizzard!"

The Confuse Ray was made harmless to Gloom as a whirlwind of petals surged between the grass type and the offending attack, so thick that it protected Gloom from Spectre's move. However, Ash wasn't going to give up on it just like that. "Shadow Sneak!"

Gloom was taken by surprise again as Spectre's skull mask smacked into its side, tipping it over. The grass type quickly got back up, but not before Ash seized his opportunity to take advantage of its momentary vulnerability. "Confuse Ray!"

This time, there was no escaping the ghost type move. Gloom squealed as its mind was twisted by Confuse Ray, much to Ash's relief. It was still going to be ridiculously fast thanks to its Chlorophyll ability, but they had a better chance at defeating it than they had beforehand. He looked across the field and started when he saw Erika still smiling. Ash frowned. Her Pokemon was confused. What on earth was she-

He actually yelped as a blast of solar energy ripped through the air, missing Spectre by mere centimeters and smashing into a nearby tree with devastating force. Eyes wide, Ash could see Gloom was definitely still confused, but confused or not, that had been a true Solar Beam. If Spectre got hit with that, it would probably end the fight right then and there.

The grass type was rapidly charging another Solar Beam and Ash realized it would only take seconds for it to fire since the sun was still shining harshly. He had to take it out while it was confused before Toxic brought Spectre down. "Shadow Ball! Keep away from its Solar Beams and hit it as many times as you can!"

Spectre did as he instructed quickly and began to form a Shadow Ball. Ash gritted his teeth when it still took a good bit of time to build up, and mentally swore when the move missed. Gloom was confused, yes, but its Chlorophyll was still in play and it was randomly darting around the field, launching Solar Beams now and again to try and hit some invisible enemy.

Only one Shadow Ball hit Gloom in the end, and that was just because it had tripped from its own random movements. The ghost type move obviously hurt, but it wasn't enough to stop Gloom, and Ash was worried that Spectre was becoming increasingly hurt from the effects of Toxic. The ghost was just trying to stay afloat at this point. He was about to recall Spectre when Gloom suddenly rushed at his Pokemon with a Solar Beam charging, getting right up in the Duskull's face. Ash suddenly had an idea and decided to go for it.

"Protect!"

Erika's eyes widened as a green energy shield quickly formed around Spectre and a moment later, Gloom launched the Solar Beam right into it. They were literally a foot apart, so the surge of light hit Spectre's Protect and exploded point-blank right in Gloom's face. A huge cloud of smoke filled the field as the blast settled, but Ash was relieved to see Spectre float out of it, albeit hurt and barely conscious from the poison.

Gloom had not been so fortunate. The confusion had driven it to fire Solar Beam right into an impenetrable shield mere inches away. Its own attack had exploded so close to the grass type that it had knocked Gloom out. Ash could only imagine the surprise on Gloom's face when the move blew up in its face. He was just glad that his battle against Paul was still fresh in his mind- Spectre's victory against Gloom was a lucky win on Ash's part.

Erika recalled Gloom and Ash did the same for Spectre. There was no way the little ghost could keep fighting, not after the debilitating effects of Toxic had worked their way through his body for so long. He smiled at the pokeball in his hand. "You were great, Spectre. Now take a good long rest. You've earned it."

"I'll admit, that surprised me," Erika called to him. "I didn't expect such a tactic from a trainer as young as yourself."

"I picked it up from someone else," Ash admitted. "Though I never thought I would have to use it so fast."

She smiled again. "Applying an adversary's moves as your own is part of growing as a trainer. Adaptation and personal ability can be enhanced when you grow with others. You aren't arrogant enough to deny that it is not only your own skills that grant you victory. That is a good thing."

Erika tapped the release on her second pokeball and sent out a Weepinbell. Ash chewed his lip thoughtfully as he considered the opponent. Weepinbell likely had Chlorophyll just like Gloom, so it would be absurdly fast and powerful as long as the sun was still bright. However, he could use the same harsh sunlight to his advantage.

Pyro appeared with a furious roar and a gout of flame that grew in the higher temperatures. Ash smirked at the delighted look on his starter's face. Pyro loved heat, and Sunny Day probably felt like paradise to him.

"Oh my," Erika murmured with a frown. "A fire type. Weepinbell, use Toxic Bomb!"

Ash's eyes widened as the grass type made to use the same deadly combination that Gloom had used on Spectre. He immediately snapped. "Flamethrower! Burn the poison away before it hits!"

Weepinbell spat the poison type combination move at Pyro, but the Charmeleon wasn't having any of it and retaliated with a torrent of flames. The grass type squelched with fear and darted away from the fire with incredible speed- Ash's guess for its ability being Chlorophyll had been correct.

"It's fast, so watch yourself," Ash began to say. "I'll bet it can fire Solar Beams as well. Make sure you don't get hit with its poison. If that tags you, it's going to knock you out one way or another."

Pyro's tail lashed in acknowledgement as the fire type glared at the Weepinbell rushing around the field. Erika was apparently using its blinding speed to her advantage as she considered her opponent and came up with a strategy. Ash wasn't going to give her any more time than she'd already had.

"Flamethrower again! Set the whole field on fire!"

Pyro's dark eyes grew bright with barely restrained glee as he sucked in a huge breath, then doused the other side of the field with his furious, burning roar. The Flamethrower only grew stronger in the intense heat, which Ash was sure by now Erika was regretting. Enhanced sunlight gave her grass types an edge with speed and the ability to fire Solar Beam ridiculously fast, but it was a double-edged sword; fire type adversaries like Pyro would gain enough power to become unstoppable natural forces of destruction. Any grass type move without the raw power of a Solar Beam would be burned away ruthlessly by Pyro's unforgiving flames.

Weepinbell was frantically trying to avoid being hit by the column of fire, but it was only a matter of time before the enhanced flames tagged it. Ash grinned as he saw Weepinbell stumble on the field, leaves burnt, and jumped at the opportunity presented to him. "Fire Fang!"

Pyro lunged at the grass type and snapped at it with his burning teeth. Weepinbell managed to scramble up and avoid the first bite, but Pyro's sharp claws lashed out to grab at it. Ash watched as his starter yanked the grass type to him, opened his jaws, and bit down harshly on Weepinbell's body. Pyro shook Weepinbell in his jaws like a terrier with a rat, burning it ruthlessly until it grew slack and went still. He threw it to the other side of the field, where Erika swiftly recalled it.

Ash couldn't stop grinning. That really was becoming a favored tactic of his. Pyro and Sobek were two of his strongest Pokemon, and their sharp teeth were a primary weapon. Biting down hard and shaking the opponent like a rag doll was effective, if rather brutal and tough to watch sometimes.

Erika glared at the Charmeleon with some frustration as she sent out her third Pokemon- a Parasect. "Parasect dear, our opponent is a fire type. Please deal with it quickly before it can use its flames to ravage the field."

Parasect clicked its claws, but it was eyeing the furious Charmeleon nervously. Ash couldn't blame it- Pyro was thrashing his fiery tail from side to side and exhaling embers with every breath. His blood was pumping and he was ready for a fight, type advantage or not. Weepinbell had simply been the first course. Parasect was the seconds that Pyro was starving for.

"Effect Spores!" Erika commanded immediately. "Use Solar Beam to keep it away. Cross Poison if it gets close. Watch the teeth- it can use Fire Fang."

The grass type clicked its claws again and shook its body, sending out a cloud of spores from its shell. Ash eyed the cloud with some nervousness- Parasect were notorious for having every kind of spore available to them, capable of debilitating enemies with poison, paralysis, and sleep. It wouldn't be good if Pyro got hit with that.

"Burn it away," Ash ordered.

Pyro snarled and released another surge of flames from his jaws, incinerating the spores without mercy. Erika frowned across the field, but smiled as a surprise Solar Beam from Parasect ripped through the destroyed spores and collided with the Charmeleon. Pyro roared furiously and glared at Parasect, more angry than hurt.

Solar Beam was strong, but it was still a grass type move. Pyro could resist it, and he hadn't been injured up until now. Ash could tell that his starter was still raring to go and decided to try and finish the fight before Parasect could get any more status afflicting moves out. "Get in close. Use Flamethrower to counter its Solar Beams and hit it with Fire Fang. Don't let it get away."

Pyro didn't wait another second to lunge at the insect the moment Ash's string of commands had been given to him. Parasect clicked its claws nervously at the charging fire type and immediately launched another Solar Beam, only for it to meet Pyro's Flamethrower in a direct collision. When the Charmeleon continued to run at his opponent, Parasect raised its claws and slashed in an X-formation, launching a razor-sharp projectile of poison that Ash figured was the Cross Poison Erika had mentioned.

"Metal Claw!" He shouted instantly. "Don't let the poison hit you!"

Silver talons glowed on Pyro's hands as he rent through the Cross Poison with Metal Claw, the toxins harmlessly washing off of the steel type move. They got a surprise as a different slashing move hit Pyro, but it only served to infuriate the Charmeleon even further. Parasect didn't have any moves that could deal serious damage to Pyro, it seemed, so it was just throwing everything it had at the fire type.

It wasn't enough. Pyro made it to Parasect and snapped at it, but the insect jabbed at him with its claws to keep him away. Pyro snarled and grabbed the huge claws with his own to keep the grass type from slashing him again, but he was still kept far enough away to prevent him from biting Parasect with Fire Fang. Erika was shouting commands for Parasect to use Effect Spores again when Ash came up with a way to finish off the insect.

"Flip it onto its side!"

Parasect made a shrill sound of surprise as Pyro used the grip he had on its enormous claws to heave his opponent to the side and unbalanced it. The bug ended up lying on its soft, mushroom shell with its legs in the air, flailing desperately to right itself. Pyro let its huge claws go and lunged at the insect with a snarl before it could recover.

Ash had to wince as he heard the distinct cracking sound of Parasect's exoskeleton breaking under the force of Pyro's powerful jaws. The fire type delivered several more burning bites to his enemy before Erika recalled Parasect and ended the battle. Pyro roared his victory and glared at Erika, probably eager for her to send out another Pokemon, but when it became clear that she was done, he settled down and walked over to Ash.

Ash smiled at his starter and scratched the scaly horn on top of Pyro's head fondly. "You were great, buddy. I'm so proud of you."

Pyro snorted and leaned into his touch, soaking up the attention while Erika made her way over to them.

The Gym Leader was frowning. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed in myself. Your Charmeleon was stronger than I anticipated."

"Pyro is probably the strongest Pokemon I have," Ash told her. "He was my starter."

Pyro butted his scaly head into Ash's chest with a growl of agreement. Erika smiled at the sight and her frown vanished. "You clearly have a strong bond with him. I was impressed by how fluidly the two of you battled together. Your fighting style is rather brutish and focused on little more than raw power, but it is effective. I'll hand you that."

She pulled a small badge out of her kimono and offered it to him. "This is the Rainbow Badge. You've earned it."

Ash took it from her gratefully and carefully placed it in his pocket. He would put in his badge case later. "Thank you, Erika. It was a good battle."

"I'd hardly say so," she smiled wryly. "I think we both know that I was rather outmatched by your Charmeleon. However, I did use the team that I have for trainers with only three badges- all of them are rather young and not up to my standards yet. If you find yourself coming through Celadon again later on, I'd welcome a rematch. I'll use my true team against you next time- and you will find no easy victory against them, fire or no fire."

Ash grinned at the thought. "I'll definitely come around for that. Thanks again, Erika."

He was halfway to the door when Erika called to him again and offered a mischievous wink. "When you've grown into a man, come back to my gym, Mr. Ketchum. I think you'll be rather handsome once you've gotten a little taller and I'm sure many of my students here would find you…interesting, to say the least."

Several giggles came from the female gym trainers that had congregated around Erika. Ash felt his face flush with heat and quickly left the building. He might have won the battle, but Erika had definitely gotten the last laugh.

* * *

 **A/N: For those of you who wondered what took so long to get this chapter out, a friend of my family passed away this last week. I think we all needed time to recover from the loss because it was so sudden. I did my best with this chapter, but my mind has obviously been on other things, so I apologize if it doesn't meet the standards of the other chapters thus far. I also won't be doing a review response for the last chapter this time, mostly because I just want to get this chapter out there and keep the story going.**

 **Also, I thank each and every one of you for submitting your OCs. I think I definitely have enough now for the St. Anne battle tournament. I will no longer be accepting OCs until another tournament comes along, so...yeah. I think that's really it for now. I hope you enjoy the chapter. I'll do my best to get the next one out asap, but I make no promises on it coming out soon. With that said, I'll do my best to update at least within this upcoming week.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	8. Consequence

_Chapter Eight: Consequence_

Ash's team only took a few hours to heal completely following the fight with Erika. Pyro had only taken one or two hits, though Spectre did need more time for Nurse Joy to ensure that the effects of Toxic had left his body. Ash was more than willing to give him the break he needed. Spectre hadn't been on his team for very long, but he'd definitely proven himself by taking down Erika's crafty Gloom.

Currently, he was sitting at a booth in the lobby eating dinner with his Pokemon while he contemplated his next move. Pyro and Sobek had already eaten their fill and were curled up by his feet under the table. Douse was eating on the other side of the booth, taking his time while he ate. Pikachu had a bottle of ketchup and was happily licking at the tomato-flavored condiment while Spectre floated by the window and stared out at the city. Ash found out that the Duskull only needed a few pieces of Pokemon food for him to be satisfied. Apparently, being a ghost meant not needing that much to eat.

Eevee was actually sleeping in his lap. She had been pleased to hear that they won the battle against Erika and didn't seem too upset that she hadn't been able to take part in the battle. Ash had a feeling she wasn't quite ready to start fighting with him yet, but that was okay. She was warming up to him more and more every day. The fact that she willingly took part in training now was evidence of that, not to mention she got a little closer to the rest of the team. Ash was just glad she was happy now.

Everyone looked content in his eyes. Well, almost everyone.

Spectre had been acting oddly ever since he'd been healed. Ash didn't think he was upset by the battle, but the ghost seemed to be utterly fixed on something outside that he couldn't comprehend. Despite Ash's attempts to get his attention, Spectre continued to stare outside with intense scrutiny.

Sobek was behaving oddly as well. The croc seemed to be trying to go to sleep, but something kept distracting him, jolting the ground type awake until he gave up the attempt at napping. After that, he cocked his head and simply went quiet, as if he were straining his senses to detect something just beyond his reach.

Ash had to frown at that. Sobek and Spectre weren't exactly friendly towards each other, so if they were both concerned about something then he deemed it wise to heed whatever they sensed. However, they weren't making any active efforts to find or warn him about whatever it was that was bothering them. What they sensed had their attention, but nothing more.

He'd figure it out tomorrow, Ash decided. It was late, his team was tired, and frankly they all needed to sleep. His plan now, seeing as they still had two months before the St. Anne arrived in Vermillion, was to head south towards Fuchsia City. There, he would challenge Koga, the Gym Leader that specialized in poison type Pokemon. Ash knew Koga was one of the stronger Kanto Gym Leaders and was even regarded as an Elite Four candidate. There were numerous low-class gyms throughout the region that would be easier to win at, but Ash wanted to challenge himself. He saw no potential growth for his team if they only fought weak enemies. Only powerful foes would help them get stronger, thus bringing Ash closer to his goal.

It would take him about a month to reach Fuchsia City from Celadon. The road to Fuchsia was a range of forests and rough wilderness that harbored strong wild Pokemon and trainers that congregated there to train. Ash was eager to make the trip, thinking about all the experience his team could gain while traveling.

His imagination grinder to a halt as Pikachu's small body fell against him. Ash smiled as he realized the little rodent was asleep, tummy full of ketchup and content as could be. He quietly recalled Pikachu and the other members of his team, though he lifted Eevee into his arms and carried her back to his room. Ash would set the rest of the team loose again to sleep once he settled for the night, as he always did.

They really were tired. It had been a long day, after all.

* * *

Ash woke up to a loud knock on his door. He groaned and opened up bleary eyes, squinting at the clock by his bed. It was only eight in the morning, something that his team had also taken notice of. Pyro and Sobek were glaring daggers at the door, obviously eager to rend whichever poor soul had dared to wake them. Douse was rubbing his eyes tiredly and Pikachu was still snoring. Ash smirked at that. The electric type had keen ears, but he had a habit of going into a food coma after eating lots of ketchup.

Eevee gave the door an annoyed look as whoever was on the other side knocked again, so Ash got up and went to answer it. He frowned when he couldn't find Spectre though. A quick glance around the room was insufficient to locate the small ghost, but a third knock forced him to answer, lest Pyro and Sobek tear the door down to attack whoever had woken them up.

"Ashy boy!"

Ash had to blink a few times to get his mind to register that Gary was standing at his door with a wide grin. The other boy looked him up and down and smirked. "You look like shit."

"I just woke up," Ash retorted. "What are you doing here? Actually, how'd you even find me?"

"I told him."

The last person Ash expected to see was Paul, but the other boy was leaning against the wall next to the door. Ash looked between Gary and Paul with surprise. "You two know each other?"

Gary leered at the violet-haired trainer. "Well, sort of. We've battled a few times before."

"What he means is he's challenged me three times and I curbstomped him twice," Paul smirked.

"…just because your stupid Elekid decided to evolve in the middle of our fight…" Gary muttered under his breath, then shook his head and grinned at Ash. "Well, that doesn't matter. Get yourself dressed, Ashy boy. We've got places to be!"

"Like what?" Ash arched an eyebrow. "I was going to set out for Fuchsia City today."

"Uh-uh!" Gary wagged a finger in front of him in a chastising manner. "You've only been here a day or two, right? Have you checked out the Game Corner?"

"The what?"

"Exactly," Gary smirked.

Paul intervened then. "Celadon City has a Game Corner that offers rare Pokemon and items as prizes. There are Pokemon here that are ridiculously hard to find in the wild. Dratini, for one."

That got Ash's attention in an instant. "They give out _dragon types_ as prizes for gambling?!"

"Aren't you glad we showed up to tell you?" Gary crowed triumphantly. "There are a couple of others you can get that are worth checking out, but I've got my eye on that dragon. I figured we should all go win a Pokemon from the Game Corner and then we can compare who did the best job training them at the Indigo League."

Paul shrugged. "I'm not really that interested in the gaming bit, but they do have some Pokemon I'd like to try and win. It's not an opportunity to be missed."

"Let me get dressed real quick," Ash said hurriedly, rushing back into his room without a second thought. His team looked bewildered by his sudden energy and didn't even have time to blink before Ash recalled them all, threw on his clothes, hat, and darted back out into the hall.

He remembered that Spectre hadn't been in the room and looked around the hall with a frown. "Have either of you seen a Duskull?"

Gary arched an eyebrow. "Duskull?"

"It's a ghost type," Paul filled him in as he faced Ash. "Why do you ask?"

"My Duskull isn't in my room," Ash replied. "He's probably fine, but I hope he's not floating around scaring people. He likes to do that."

Gary shrugged. "Well, ghosts are pretty smart. He should be able to track you down if he comes back here. Gramps told me once that they can track a certain life force if they've been around it long enough."

Ash was still frowning, but Gary threw an arm around his shoulder and dragged him off. "C'mon, Ash, we got some gambling to do!"

* * *

The three boys made it to the Game Corner with little difficulty. It was certainly flashy enough, with a huge neon sign over the entrance and posters displaying the various prizes that could be won. Ash's jaw dropped as he eyed the list of Pokemon he had the potential to win here- Dratini, Scyther, Pinsir, Clefairy, Lickitung, Tangela, Abra, Sandshrew, Porygon…The list went on and on. Sandshrew weren't that hard to find and Abra were just really annoying to capture, but Scyther, Pinsir, Lickitung and Tangela were absurdly difficult to find.

Yet even they couldn't match the ungodly rarity of Dratini or Clefairy. They were the highest prizes available for that very reason, and Ash could only assume the Game Corner had access to a high class breeder in order to obtain the rare Pokemon. Porygon was another rarity, one that had been developed entirely with computer data. They had only been declared officially as Pokemon in recent years and most were owned by the League, so again, Ash assumed the Game Corner had some big-shot contact.

He would kill to get any one of them. Ash would have to win a load of coins for them, but if he did it, he would gain an invaluable new teammate.

They went inside and made their way through the crowds of gamblers to the desk in the back, where they paid for a coin case and 100 coins to start out. Everything else they'd have to earn or buy. Ash was going for the Scyther. There weren't many bug types that were powerful enough to hold their own in the upper ranks of trainers, but Scyther and its evolved form Scizor were among that limited number. Scyther were fast and powerful- traits Ash was, admittedly, rather fond of. Aside from that, bug type moves would give him an added advantage against Sabrina's psychic Pokemon when Ash challenged her. He would have to earn 6,500 coins, but that would be a small price to pay given how rare the bug type was.

Ash, Gary, and Paul made their way to separate machines and started to play. Ash picked a slot machine and read the instructions. It was a relatively simple game- all he had to do was predict the pictures that came and try to match them up. If he could get straights every time, he would continue to gain coins. It wasn't hard to earn coins even with misses, but scoring big would be difficult. The best match he could get was three sevens across the slots. That would earn him five hundred coins. If Ash was lucky and predicted the slots well, he could get the 6,500 coins he needed for Scyther.

He inserted a coin and glared at the slots as they spun quickly, challenging him to predict the images. After a minute of watching the first slot spin and trying to predict the seven, Ash hit the stop button. He scowled when the slot came to a standstill more slowly than he'd anticipated and made him land on the picture of a Shellder's face. Ash frowned as he struck out on the other two slots as well and only managed to earn back the coin he'd put in.

This was going to take a while.

* * *

Five hours later and Ash was still at the same slot machine. He'd managed to earn about 1,000 coins, which was nowhere near enough for him to get the Scyther he wanted. It was ridiculously frustrating and he was just about ready to set Pyro on the machine that seemed to mock him with every miss he made.

"How goes the battle?"

Ash jumped as Paul appeared behind him. He scowled and jabbed his thumb at the slot machine. "Terrible. I still need like 5,000 coins to get a Scyther. I'll be here all day before I even earn half of that."

Paul smirked. "It's not easy to pick up on. It's a good thing there's a Game Corner in my home city. I've played all these before and then some."

He held up a pokeball that Ash could only blink at dumbly until he realized what it was. "You already got enough coins?!"

"Like I said, I've done this before," the violet-haired boy shrugged. He tossed the pokeball up and snatched it out of the air. "Besides, I only had to earn 5,000 coins. That's nothing. Some of the prizes at the Veilstone Game Corner are like 15,000 coins. Hyper Beam and Giga Impact TMs, for example."

Ash just gaped at his rival. It didn't even occur to him to ask which Pokemon Paul had chosen. He was still trying to compute the fact that Paul could beat these games and earn five times as much as Ash had in the same amount of time.

"Oh, look at that," Paul remarked as he looked over Ash's head. "Your ghost is back."

Ash blinked and spun around to find Spectre floating directly behind him. He smiled at the little ghost, relieved that he'd found his way to Ash again. "Hey there, buddy. Where'd you float off to?"

Spectre tapped his head and pointed towards the back of the Game Corner. Ash arched his eyebrow. "What were you doing here- hey!"

The ghost suddenly snatched his hat and started floating away. Ash growled and lunged after him, still annoyed by his inability to win at the slot machine. He wasn't in the mood for this. "Spectre, give me back my hat!"

Spectre floated along towards the back of the building, Ash chasing after him while Paul followed with a somewhat bored expression. The ghost led them to a lone potted plant that stood out from the rest of the Game Corner. Once they reached it, Spectre turned to Ash and gestured at the wall urgently.

Ash frowned. "What is it?"

"It looks like there's a door there," Paul said as he inspected the plain white walls. "It kind of blends in, doesn't it?"

He realized that there was indeed a door, colored white to match the walls and only discernible by the faint rectangular outline. There was no sign on it that told them not to enter, so Ash pushed on it. The door swung in to reveal a stairway heading down. Spectre immediately floated down, much to Ash's chagrin. He glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then followed the ghost type with Paul.

Everything inside was white and black, as though the place had been designed like a checker board. Ash and Paul remained quiet as they went lower and lower, following Spectre to whatever it was he wanted to show them. They reached the end of the stairs shortly and paused at a corner that would take them to a hallway when they heard voices talking.

"Did you hear about what happened in Lavender Town? At the Pokemon Tower?"

"Yeah, Lady Ariana went and got caught by some big-shot League Trainer. What of it? We already broke her out. If you want big news, freshman, you ought to know that Petrel went and got what we needed to pull off Project: Darkwing. Now all we gotta do is ship it west and our…allies there will weaponize it."

"Oh! Really? That's huge news!"

"I've been a part of Team Rocket for two years now, freshman. I'm a first-class grunt just below the Admins- staying in the know is what I do. Besides, once this deal goes down with Project: Darkwing, we're gonna hit the big times. That and Project: Origin, but even Lady Ariana ain't disclosing too much about it."

"Sheesh, all these big projects are going down at once? It's no wonder Proton's running us ragged."

"Shut up. If Proton hears you say that, you'll be on toilet duty for a month. Do you have any idea how many toilets there are in this base?"

"Um…"

Ash had frozen after the mention of Team Rocket and scarcely remembered how to breathe until Paul jerked his shoulder. The other boy nodded back to the stairs, an ugly scowl on his face. Paul led Ash back up the stairs in dead silence, with Spectre following.

They didn't stop walking until they were aboveground and outside the Game Corner, where Paul whirled around with a furious expression on his face.

"Rockets?!" He hissed. "What the hell are they doing here?!"

"Probably running the Game Corner," Ash replied, still a little shocked after their discovery. However, his shock was quickly giving way to burning rage. "The only thing they really seem to care about is money. Plus that's the only way they could do this without someone noticing."

Paul muttered something under his breath that was probably a word ten-year olds shouldn't know. He cast a venomous look at the Game Corner. "We've got to attack them."

"Attack who?"

They jumped and spun towards the voice as Gary made his way out of the Game Corner. He seemed startled by the intense expressions on their faces and frowned. "Something wrong?"

Paul grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and started to drag Gary towards the Pokemon Center. Ash and Spectre followed them.

"H-hey!" Gary protested with an annoyed tone. "What's the big idea?!"

"We need to plan. Now," Paul growled.

* * *

Gary crossed his arms at the circular table and frowned hard. "Damn…so you're saying there's a Team Rocket base in the Game Corner?"

"No, the _Game Corner_ is a Team Rocket base," Ash corrected him in a hushed tone. At Gary's startled expression, he explained his thought. "The only way they could get away with whatever they have going on down there is if they own the whole building. Those rare Pokemon they give out as prizes? I'll bet you anything those are Pokemon they've gotten illegally."

Gary held a pokeball up in his hand and stared at it. "I wonder where they got this one, then…"

"You got enough coins for a Pokemon, too?!" Ash gaped at him. "Am I the only one that sucks at those games?!"

"No one cares about games right now!" Paul snapped. "This is real. Remember what happened in Mt. Moon?"

Ash grimaced and lifted a hand to his left shoulder, the spot where Proton's Crobat had bitten him with its deadly Poison Fang. The injury had scarred over by now, but just thinking about the battle reminded him of what could happen when they fought Team Rocket.

"What happened at Mt. Moon?" Gary asked as he leaned forward on the table curiously.

Paul sighed in exasperation and hurriedly filled him in. As Ash waited for him to finish telling Gary the story, Spectre floated in front of him and tapped his forehead. Ash smiled back at tapped the ghost's skull mask. "Thank you, Spectre. We never would've found out about the base if it wasn't for you. But how did you know?"

Spectre only turned to gaze in the direction of the Game Corner, an intense concentration in his single red eye. Ash remembered how focused he and Sobek had been the night before and wondered if Team Rocket was doing something that affected ghost and dark types. They used similar energies, otherworldly and alien to most other Pokemon. But gatherings of that energy (like the one Spiritomb had gathered at Pokemon Tower, for instance) drew their attention like Venomoth's to a flame.

Perhaps Team Rocket was trying to repeat the process- Cynthia had foiled them, after all, and captured the Spiritomb Ariana had wanted. Maybe they had somehow gotten their hands on another Odd Keystone and were trying to replicate the process in their own base.

"…and that's the gist of it," Paul finished telling Gary. Ash looked up as the violet-haired boy glanced at him. "So back to the present. If there's a Rocket Base here, we ought to go in there and crush it."

"Shouldn't we just call the police?" Gary set his hand on the table and started tapping one finger restlessly. "These are criminals we're talking about. We can't exactly arrest them."

"No, but we can give them a nasty surprise," Ash admitted. He met Paul's level gaze with his own. "You called Cynthia before we attacked the Rockets at Mt. Moon. She's nowhere nearby, but suppose we call the police on my PokeNav and then hit them while Officer Jenny is getting her squad ready?"

Paul nodded. "It'll work better this time since we don't have Rockets breathing down our necks from the start."

"This is crazy!" Gary exclaimed. "This is Team Rocket! And what are we? Three newbie trainers with only four badges apiece! What makes you think we can take them on?!"

"They aren't strong on their own," Ash told him with surety. "Only the Admins are really threatening. And they're even worse off when you catch them by surprise."

Gary opened his mouth to protest again, but Paul cut him off with a glare. "Those worthless thieves are used to running the place. They think they can take Pokemon whenever they want from whoever they want. They've pissed me off one too many times and I'm craving some payback right about now."

Ash nodded, his eyes dark. He hated Team Rocket as much as Paul, both for stealing Pokemon and personally injuring them. They were the lowest of the low, with no morals and no rules. He would be more than happy to give them a taste of their own medicine. "Gary, we're going, whether you're joining us or not. It's just something we have to do."

Gary scowled at him. "I think you're being reckless out of your mind, and coming from me that's saying something given how many times Gramps has lectured me. But that's not going to stop you from fighting them, is it?"

When the two other boys shook their heads, Gary sighed. "I can't say I'm fully in support of this, but I'm not about to let you guys get yourselves captured. Or worse."

Ash glanced between his two rivals. "Alright, then let's do this. Everyone has their teams on them? All of them are at full strength and ready for a fight?"

Gary and Paul both nodded, so Ash recalled Spectre to his pokeball and stood up from the table. "Good. Let's go give them a taste of their own medicine."

* * *

Getting back to the Game Corner and into the underground base wasn't that hard. All the people in there had only games and prizes on their minds. No one was going to pay attention to three boys heading to the back to seemingly check out a plant.

Ash quietly pushed the door in and glanced over his shoulder. Paul nodded- no one was watching them. The three boys slipped inside the base and closed the door behind them, then made their way down the stairs.

Gary hissed out a question. "So when is it exactly that we call the police?"

"Officer Jenny isn't going to take us for our word right off the bat," Ash replied lowly. "We need proof. Best way to do that is take out a grunt or two and show her them on my PokeNav's video phone."

"And how exactly are we going to get a grunt to show their face in front of a camera? Ask them nicely?"

Ash smirked and released Spectre. The ghost immediately glanced towards the downstairs, to whatever was drawing his attention, until Ash tapped his mask. "Hey, buddy. I need you to focus. We're fighting Team Rocket- remember them?"

When the ghost nodded, Ash went on. "I need you to scout for them just like you did at Pokemon Tower. We've got to knock one or two of them out fast so I can call the police. Okay?"

Spectre's eye glinted and he immediately floated through the wall, disappearing in an instant. Ash glanced at Gary and Paul. "If you have a Pokemon that can inflict status ailments like sleep or paralysis, get it ready."

"Why's that?" Gary asked.

"So that they can't bother us once we beat them down," Paul informed him somewhat irritably. "What, do you think they'll run away from their own base after you defeat them? They'll probably do whatever they can to keep us busy until backup arrives. We'll have to incapacitate them."

They finally reached the base of the stairs and went quiet, listening for the two grunts they had heard the first time Ash and Paul had snuck in. The three of them jumped however, when Spectre floated around the corner with a gleeful look in his single red eye.

Ash glanced around the corner and smirked when he saw the two Rockets immobilized under the effects of Spectre's Disable. The little ghost really was good at that move.

"Good job, Spectre," Ash praised him. Spectre did a little flip and waited patiently as the three trainers made their way into the large hallway, eyeing the two unmoving grunts lying against a wall.

Gary nudged them with his boot and smirked. "Not bad. That'll probably keep them still until we get out of here."

Ash pulled out his PokeNav and immediately dialed the number for the police, waiting patiently as it rang. After a few short moments, Jenny answered the video phone and looked at him with a somewhat bored expression. "You've reached the Celadon Police Department. How can I help you?"

"You need to send officers to the Game Corner right away," Ash told her. "There's a Team Rocket base underground there."

Jenny arched an eyebrow. "If this is supposed to be some kind of prank kid, it's not a funny one. I can write you up for pulling this."

Ash turned the camera towards the unconscious Rockets. "It's no prank."

"What!" Jenny exclaimed from the video phone as she stared at the Rockets. She was actually rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things, but sure enough, there they were.

Paul stepped into the camera's view. "We're in the base now. We're going to assault it, but we can't arrest any of the Rockets we take out without your help."

"Assault it?! Absolutely not! Get the hell out of there!" She hissed furiously.

"Not an option," Paul replied cooly. "I'd suggest you get your Celadon Gym trainers down here as well. We think there might be Rocket Admins here that are stronger than the average grunt. We'll need some extra firepower to beat them. In the meantime, the three of us will wreck them in any way we can."

Jenny gaped at him. "You kids are crazy! Get out of there right now and-"

Ash hung up. Her rising voice would catch unwanted attention at this rate. He pocketed the PokeNav and nodded. "That went well."

"Dude, she's gonna be more pissed off than a Primeape," Gary muttered. "Suppose she decides to arrest us too?"

"We can worry about that later. Right now, let's give the Rockets what they deserve," Paul told him, spinning around to walk further into the base.

Ash tapped Spectre's skull mask again. "Spectre, I need you to keep scouting. Don't attack anyone, just let us know where they are."

The ghost nodded and disappeared. Ash blinked when he saw Gary wasn't following them and found the boy taking pokeballs from the two immobilized grunts. He looked at Ash and shrugged. "I'm not about to take my chances and leave them armed. We'll fork em over to Jenny when the cops get here."

With that, the two of them followed Paul deeper into the Team Rocket base.

* * *

The first battle they had was literally two minutes after they immobilized the first grunts. Ash was about to turn a corner when Spectre popped out of the ground and assumed a defensive posture between his trainer and the path ahead, causing Ash to tense and reach for Pyro's pokeball. At his sides, Gary and Paul also armed themselves as two Rocket grunts turned the corner and blinked at them with surprise.

"The hell are these kids? Did we get any new recruits, Cassidy?" Queried a man.

A woman shook her head. "Not that I know of. Little boys, what are you doing here?"

"Since you asked nicely, we'll use simple words so you can understand us," Paul sneered, causing the two grunts to glare at him darkly. "We're here to kick your asses."

"Oh? You hear that Butch?" Cassidy grinned maliciously. "We're looking at the three musketeers."

"Trying to be the heroes, eh?" Butch chuckled. "Well, I think you three brats are in need of some…correctional treatment. Let us show you what happens to those that defy-"

He didn't get any further as Spectre suddenly vanished into a shadow and then popped out a second later to pummel Butch right in the face with his skull mask. The Rocket grunt reeled back, dazed and disoriented, with a bloody nose to match. Spectre cackled, but it was only for a second as Cassidy released her Pokemon.

A Houndour and Raticate snarled at them and lunged, but Gary and Paul set loose a huge Geodude (there was no way it couldn't not be on the cusp of evolution) and Nidorino to counter her. While the battle got under way, Butch recovered and set loose a Mankey, which caused Ash to set Pyro loose.

The Charmeleon just had to take a single look at the Rocket uniforms on Butch and Cassidy to fly into a rage. He roared furiously and charged Mankey, who seemed surprised by the savagery Pyro was displaying. Before the pig monkey could even react, Pyro slashed at it with his claws, launching it right into Butch and bowling him over. The Slash attack did plenty of damage, but it angered Mankey and made it get over its brief surprise. The pig monkey lunged at Pyro and engaged him as the fire lizard breathed tongues of flame and slashed at his enemy violently.

Ash, Paul, and Gary had backed up immediately after releasing their Pokemon, Spectre floating as a guard between them and the battle in case an attack went in their direction. The fight was quick and brutal, but it was obvious that Butch and Cassidy's Pokemon were pretty new to the concept of battle. Pyro defeated Mankey with a vicious Mega Punch that created a crater beneath the pig monkey Pokemon, only half a minute or so into the fight. Geodude weathered Houndour's flames with relative easy and trapped it with Rock Tomb, then bashed a Rock Blast into the canine's head.

Raticate was the nastiest of the bunch since it was the only evolved Pokemon the two grunts had, but even then it was swiftly dispatched by a clean stab from Nidorino's Focus Jab. The rat tried to play possum and attacked Nidorino when the poison type thought it was down, but Nidorino wasn't easily fooled and finished it with another stab of his horn.

Butch and Cassidy looked stunned at their easy loss, but the boys weren't going to give them the time of day.

"Knock them out," Ash commanded angrily.

Pyro grabbed Cassidy by her arm and threw her over his shoulder to smash the woman into the ground. The force knocked her out instantly. Nidorino ran into Butch's leg to trip him, then Geodude quite simply fell onto the man's back. Needless to say, Ash winced at the brief cracking sound that particular move created. Butch would definitely feel that later.

Gary scowled. "Is that seriously it? If they're all this weak then this'll be easier than I thought."

"Let's just keep moving," Paul muttered. "I want to crush as many of them as I can before the police get here."

They left Butch and Cassidy unconscious on the ground with their defeated Pokemon. After another minute or so of tense sneaking through the hallway, they saw a door on the right side of the hall. Ash glanced behind him and the other boys nodded, so he crept towards it.

A Rocket grunt was sitting at a computer, but he was snoring loudly on the keyboard. Ash smirked and looked at Spectre. "Disable."

The ghost quickly followed his command with a glowing eye. A faint outline of dark energy surrounded the grunt and Ash noticed with satisfaction that his body stiffened up, still fast asleep.

They moved into the room and shut the door behind them quietly. Paul pushed the grunt away from the desk in his rolling chair and took his pokeballs away as Gary looked at the computer with interest. "What do you think they've got stored on file in there? King Kong?"

"One way to find out," Paul tapped the spacebar and waited as the dark screen booted up. A box came up requesting a password, which made him sneer. "Password? I've got a password for them."

He pulled out a pokeball and released one of the oddest creatures Ash had ever seen. It was comprised of many geometric shapes, with a simple pink and blue body, two legs that could do little more than move up and down slightly, and a straight, pointy tail. It had no mouth and its head was just as pointy and jagged as the rest of its body. Two large, white eyes in the shapes of hexagons with simple pupils in the center completed the Pokemon.

"A Porygon?" Gary stared at it with interest. "This is what you won with your coins?"

"Yeah," Paul confirmed. He snapped his fingers to get Porygon's attention and the strange creature made several sounds that resembled computer beeps. "I haven't introduced myself to you properly yet, but there's not any time for that. I'm your trainer now, Porygon, and I've got a job for you."

Porygon beeped again in what sounded like agreement. Paul pointed at the computer and went on. "I need you to hack this computer. It's storing information for criminals, but we don't know the password. Can you crack it?"

Porygon looked at the computer for a second before floating towards it. The moment it touched the screen, it's body began to dissolve into particulates of data until an image depicting Porygon appeared on the computer desktop.

Ash grinned. "Okay, that's actually pretty cool."

"Porygon, can you do it?" Paul queried. The Porygon image on the screen went to the box requesting a password. It hovered over it for a few seconds, then a string of characters were typed into the bar and entered. Paul smirked as the computer accepted the hacked password, bringing up a screen with a big red "R" and a series of file options. "Good job. Find information about this base."

Porygon's image floated over to a folder and scanned it for a bit before passing to the next one. They waited tensely for a few minutes, aware that any intrusion would have them discovered. Finally, Porygon found something and brought it up on the screen. The boys watched as data about the base, including its layout and description appeared before their eyes.

Ash jabbed instantly at the room in the back of the base that was titled "Laboratory" with a scowl on his face. "We should hit them there and mess up their research. Maybe we can find out more about those special projects the first grunts we saw were talking about."

"That's pretty far down there," Gary admitted as he checked out the layout. "And it's probably guarded better than the front door was. Maybe one of their Admins will be hanging around there."

"Probably. One of the Admins is a lady called Ariana," Ash recalled as memories of Pokemon Tower came back to him. "She's apparently their head researcher. If she's in this base, that's probably the spot."

"Porygon, can you find information about a "Project: Darkwing" or "Project: Origin?" Paul requested.

Porygon searched again for the data his trainer had requested, but after five minutes of searching, it returned to the center of the screen and made a negative sounding beep.

"Well, it was worth a shot," Paul muttered with disappointment. "Porygon, I need you to shut off the security cameras if there are any and then come back. We have to get moving."

The virtual creature beeped again and floated over to the settings on the computer for a few minutes to access the whole system, where it pulled up screens for only five cameras. Ash arched an eyebrow. Team Rocket really was being careless if they were that lax on security. They watched as Porygon shut each of the cameras down by freezing their frames. Hopefully, whoever was supposed to be watching them wouldn't notice the difference.

Porygon began to materialize out of the computer screen shortly after and floated in front of the boys. Paul approached it with an approving nod. "Good work, Porygon. I'm going to recall you now. We'll meet again after this is over."

Porygon beeped again, then Paul recalled his Pokemon. Ash opened the door slightly and peered out into the hall, but fortunately, no one was there.

"Let's go," he muttered.

* * *

Progress was made slowly, but with ease. None of the grunts were expecting an attack and most fell prey to Spectre's Disable. Ash couldn't believe how ridiculously easy this was- these grunts had to be the lowest of the low in Team Rocket's organization. If their Pokemon were anything like Butch and Cassidy's, they wouldn't put up much of a fight anyways.

He may have jinxed them with that thought, because as the boys turned a corner, they found themselves facing six grunts, all of whom looked surprised to see them.

"Intruders?" One of the grunts exclaimed. Then he scowled. "Intruders! Get them!"

Ash unleashed Pikachu in an instant. "Quick Stun!"

The mouse lunged with blinding speed at the clustered group of Rockets and immediately tackled the nearest one to send a jolt of electricity through his body. Pikachu then used the Rocket as a platform to jump at a second enemy, paralyzing her as well.

He was only able to get two of the grunts paralyzed before the other four released eight Pokemon- three Koffing, two Grimer, a Drowzee, and two Machop. Ash called Pikachu to his side and released Sobek to fight so Spectre could float above him. Gary sent out Geodude and a Kadabra, while Paul released an Electabuzz and Cubone.

The group of Rocket Pokemon charged them, seemingly intent on engaging their enemies in a physical brawl. Only Drowzee hung back and began to build up psychic energy for an attack.

"Kadabra, take care of that Drowzee. Shadow Ball until it's unconscious- don't give it an opportunity to attack us," Gary commanded. "Geodude, cover him with Rock Blast and Rollout."

"Target the Machop with Thunder Wave and Thunder Punch, Electabuzz," Paul ordered calmly. "Cubone, go after the Koffing with Bonemerang. If they get too close, use Tomb Break."

"Sobek, use Stone Edge on the Grimer," Ash said quickly. "Don't let them touch you- they're toxic. Pikachu, help out Cubone with Thunderbolt. Try and paralyze those Koffing before they can start spewing poison gas."

Their Pokemon immediately carried out their orders. Kadabra began to levitate and used its spoon as a focal point to create a Shadow Ball, which it fired at Drowzee. Geodude took a place in front of the psychic type and waited in case it needed to act as Kadabra's defense. Electabuzz discharged two quick bursts of lightning from its horns to paralyze the Machop and then lunged at them, bashing the weakened fighting types with electrified fists.

Cubone and Pikachu went straight for the Koffing. Pikachu fired a Thunder Wave that tagged two of the poison types while Cubone's bone smashed into the third right between the eyes. While they kept them busy, Sobek smashed his fist into the ground, causing jagged stones to burst out of the ground. The two Grimer were instantly impaled, straight through their gelatinous bodies. It looked brutal, but Grimer were odd Pokemon- they were biologically immortal if their bodies were torn apart. The only way to truly kill them was to burn them into ashes until nothing remained.

Sobek grinned with delight as the two enemies gurgled painfully and slowly began to reform. Whenever one of the Grimer got close to becoming complete again, the crocodilian ripped them apart again with Stone Edge.

The whole battle was over in mere minutes, despite the seemingly confused brawling. The Rockets' Pokemon were not trained like their enemies' were. They were used to overwhelming opponents with numbers- quantity over quality. Even though the Rockets did technically outnumber the boys in this fight, their Pokemon were helpless in the face of seasoned fighters like those belonging to Ash, Gary, and Paul.

When the last Rocket Pokemon was defeated, Ash and Paul quickly ordered Pikachu and Electabuzz to paralyze the remaining grunts. The four men and women were down before they could even comprehend that they'd been bested.

They made to move on, but a yell from behind them made the boys freeze.

Ash's face curled into an ugly scowl as he caught sight of Proton at the head of a huge group of grunts. The Admin was grinning at them darkly. "Oh, you boys are in trouble. You should know better than to pick fights that you can't win. I'm going to offer you this once, so listen carefully- surrender, or suffer the consequences."

"Kiss my ass," Paul snarled right back, then shouted to Electabuzz. "Thunder Wave!"

The electric type did as he ordered instantly, firing a blast of lighting right at Proton. Before the move made contact, however, there was a burst of light and then the ground shook.

Ash's eyes widened as a Rhydon appeared, almost blocking the hallway with its massive bulk. Proton leaned around his behemoth after it absorbed the Thunder Wave harmlessly, still grinning at the boys. "Rhydon, have your way with them. Would you boys prefer your corpses to look like pancakes, or with holes drilled through your bodies?"

Rhydon's horn spun as it growled deeply, shaking the earth. Proton's smirk had vicious delight written all over it. "Ah, some familiar faces. The two little heroes from Mt. Moon, am I right? Didn't I teach you last time that it was unwise to interfere with Team Rocket? As I recall, my Crobat very nearly killed you. No matter, no matter. It would seem I'll have a second chance to have my way with you brats."

Ash gritted his teeth. This wasn't a fight they could win- not against Proton's Rhydon, whatever other monsters he had on him, and ten plus grunts. He spun towards Sobek. "Stone Edge! Block the hallway!"

"Geodude, do the same with Rock Tomb!" Gary instantly shouted, also recognizing the danger.

Sobek stamped his foot hard on the ground and created spires of jagged stone between them and the Rockets. Geodude mimicked it by simply punching its stone arms through the floor and using its rock type energy to manipulate rocks into bursting into the hall from below.

"Hammer Arm," was all the boys heard before Rhydon roared enough to make the ground shake. A moment later, pulverized rock went flying everywhere from the behemoth's devastating strike. Ash yelped and dove to the ground as a stone the size of a bowling ball missed his head by mere inches, though he was still pelted by smaller rocks that cut and bruised his skin. He saw Paul hit the ground a second later and Gary yelled in pain.

"OW, dammit!" Gary leaned back against the wall and slid down, clutching his left arm while he hissed in pain. He'd been tagged by one of the larger stones.

Proton snickered. "Give it up, boys! Or else-"

He was cut off by a brilliant flash of white light and a groaning bellow that sounded like rocks grating together. Everyone froze and stared as Gary's Geodude grew in bulk, tripling its size while growing two stubby legs and two extra, burly arms. When the light exploded away, a Graveler smashed its four fists together and bellowed furiously at the Rhydon that had injured its trainer.

When it used Rock Tomb this time, the rock type created a solid wall of stone that was a huge improvement on the previous barrier. The hallway was filled completely by rock, blockaded until they couldn't even hear Proton's shout of surprise.

Paul got back up quickly. "We have to go. That wall isn't going to hold back his Rhydon for long."

"You okay?" Ash went over to Gary to check on the injured trainer.

Gary cursed again. "I think my wrist might be broken. It's definitely cracked."

Despite the pain, he stood up and grinned at his Graveler. "You just saved our asses, Graveler. Thanks."

Graveler nodded silently, keeping an eye on the wall of rock just in case it was broken again by Rhydon. After recalling most of their Pokmeon, they got moving again as quickly as possible, though they were hampered by Gary's injury. According to the information that Porygon had given them, they were almost at the furthest point in the base. There was still a chance they could make it to the laboratory and damage Team Rocket further before the police arrived.

* * *

They should have known that the lab wouldn't be a nice place, especially given that Team Rocket were the ones running it. They were never going to find anything they would like down there. But none of the boys were prepared for what they _did_ find.

Massive test tubes going from the ceiling to the floor lined the room, containing the bodies of Pokemon that were either in stasis or, as they noticed with a rising sense of sickness, corpses. Each tube was labeled, describing if the individual inside was alive or dead, and what it was the Rockets were testing on them. There were holding cages as well in the back, keeping inside of them the most miserable creatures the boys had ever seen.

They saw bird Pokemon with their beaks blunted from trying to escape so much, Rattata and Raticate that couldn't close their own mouths because they had nothing to chew on, so their ever-growing teeth got too large. Groups of Nidoran were huddled together and some of them looked like they might have been feeding on a deceased member of their own kin.

There were more exotic species as well. Ash caught sight of a Scyther that was missing one of its huge blade-like arms, though it was regrowing in some way that was unknown to him. There was a Dratini that was smashing its head into the cell with a fury that had no place in the normally gentle dragon type. The biggest shock was an Aerodactyl that looked as if it hadn't been created properly- its wings were far too small and the teeth were so misaligned that they dug into its own skin.

In short, they all looked awful. The Pokemon varied from ones that appeared to have just arrived in the lab, to ones that looked like they hadn't eaten in weeks. The whole room made Ash sick.

"Son of a…" Gary trailed off as he stared around with wide, horrified eyes.

Paul had his fists clenched until his knuckles went white, fury pulsing through his eyes. He glanced around until he spotted something that made him freeze. "What is that?"

Ash turned to stare at whatever had Paul's attention and blinked at a strange form floating in a test tube. Whatever it was, it was only half-created from the head down, though bubbles of particle matter seemed to be attaching to the creature slowly as they watched. He couldn't even tell what it was supposed to _be_. It had a vaguely feline face, but with an almost anorexic humanoid body shape that was covered in thin, pale gray fur. There was a warning label on the front that he took notice of and read aloud for the others.

"Project: Origin Subject 003," Ash started, pausing as he realized that this might be more important than they thought. He continued to read eagerly. "Warning: Do not manage without consent of Team Rocket Head Scientist Ariana. Subject is still under development and easily damaged. Currently undergoing genetic reconstruction using material harvested from Hoenn's Faraway Island and Ditto cells."

There was a computer by the test tube, so Paul released Porygon again to hack it. In moments, the virtual Pokemon was back in the Rockets' system and drawing out as much information as it could, though it was far slower and less effective this time. Apparently, this creature's identity and information was worth added cybernetic protection.

Paul was annoyed when all Porygon could get from the database was that the creature was based on a psychic Pokemon. "Well, it's no good to Team Rocket right now. The thing's only half-baked."

"For now."

They whirled around towards the door they had come through to find a red-haired woman in a white uniform scowling at them. Beside her were two Pokemon- a Magneton and an Arbok. "Little boys should know better than to poke their noses where they don't belong."

"Ariana, right?" Ash glared at her. "Cynthia beat you in Pokemon Tower."

The woman's scowl turned deadly. "You're that little brat that ruined my plan to capture Spiritomb. I'm going to enjoy crushing you slowly. You'll wish Proton had gotten his hands on you first."

She looked from him to Gary, and then Paul and his Porygon as the boy recalled it. The sight of the virtual Pokemon made her even angrier. "That's why our security systems went down? You've got some nerve, you brat."

Ash set loose Pyro, Sobek, and Pikachu immediately, while Spectre hovered over his head. Paul released his Grotle, Electabuzz, and Nidorino beside him, though Gary hung back because of his injury and let Wartortle, Graveler, and Kadabra act as guards.

Ariana sneered. "Going to pick a fight you can't win?"

"Ten against two?" Paul arched his eyebrow. "I think the odds are in our favor."

"Ten against four," another voice interrupted.

Proton had come into the lab through another entrance with a Rhydon and a small Pokemon with sharp claws that Ash didn't recognize. He looked furious. "There are police in the base. These brats set us up. They'll probably get through all those worthless grunts in a few minutes."

"You little shits," Ariana glared at them. "You're going to pay in blood for this."

"Now, now, there's no need for that!"

The boys froze as a third Rocket appeared behind them, seemingly from nowhere. The man had a confident smirk on his face right below a purple mohawk. "Team Rocket Admin Petrel, at your service. Pipe down, will you? Why fight when we can be productive about this? You three boys have talent to get this far into our base- that or incredible luck. Either one would be a great asset to our cause! How about it? I'm offering to you a chance to join Team Rocket and become filthy rich!"

Ash glared at him darkly. "Never."

"If that's a joke, I forgot to laugh," Gary sneered in response. Paul said nothing, simply opting to ignore Petrel and glare at Proton while the man scowled right back. They were both itching for a fight.

Petrel shrugged. "Very well. I hate to do this, but press-ganging is possible for you boys. You aren't so strong yet that you can resist three Admins at once. Our leader provides to us powerful Pokemon, you know."

The Rhydon growling at Proton's side was testament to that, but Petrel released two more Pokemon that Ash identified as a Haunter and a Murkrow. The Admin smirked again. "Surrender now. We're only using two Pokemon each. Do you actually think this is all we have on us? Don't make us set the _really_ bloodthirsty monsters on you, little boys."

Ash glanced at Paul and Gary, who both nodded. He didn't bother replying to Petrel's threat. Instead, the boys immediately went on the assault.

"Flamethrower, Crunch, Quick Stun, Shadow Ball!" Ash roared.

"Razor Leaf, Thunder Punch, Focus Jab!" Paul commanded.

"Water Pulse, Rock Blast, Psybeam!" Gary shouted.

Their Pokemon unleashed the maelstrom of attacks instantly, blasting at the enemy Rockets and their Pokemon. The Admins were wary of begin struck by a stray move, but they didn't even respond as their Pokemon counterattacked.

Ariana's Magneton began to fire bursts of lightning to counterattack any ranged moves like Kadabra's Psybeam, while her Arbok lunged to intercept Sobek's Crunch with its own huge fangs. Petrel's Haunter began to engage Spectre, cackling while it easily evaded the slower ghost's attacks. His Murkrow did little more than guard its master, though it occasionally dove in to attack if it saw an opportunity. Wartortle spat Ice Beams at the bird whenever he could to keep it at bay.

Proton's Pokemon were by far the most dangerous. Rhydon was fighting Pyro, Graveler, and Nidorino all at once and still didn't even look like it was breaking a sweat. It was slow, but each and every one of its moves were ridiculously powerful and would do cataclysmic damage if they made contact.

The odd dark type he had was fighting Pikachu and Grotle with ease. Ash had no idea it would be so blindingly fast, but it made Pikachu look like he was moving in slow motion. He could barely track the thing with his eyes and it seemed to be toying with its enemies in a sadistic kind of cat and mouse game. It would rush in, slash at them to make a small cut, then dart away before the Pokemon had any idea what had hit them.

Ash heard a roar of fury and froze when he saw Sobek in Arbok's coils. The serpent made to bite his Pokemon, but hissed when Wartortle hurled a Water Pulse into its face, making it dizzy. Sobek snapped his jaws into Arbok and began to rip his head back and forth, cutting deep into its flesh while the confused snake writhed in pain.

Kadabra was in a stalemate with Magneton, but the electric type was getting the upper hand with its greater strength. Petrel's Haunter wasn't even really fighting, just taunting Spectre with its speed and occasional scratches of its ghostly claws. If it started to battle seriously, Ash had no doubt that it overwhelm Spectre. He didn't even want to imagine Rhydon getting serious- the stone behemoth was just swatting at their Pokemon as if they were bothersome flies. It hadn't hit any of them yet, but it seemed to be getting bored and impatient.

The biggest threat right now was the dark type that Proton had released. It was done playing. The creature was darting around and spitting blasts of icy wind at Pikachu and Grotle, then moved in to slash with its claws- this time for real. Pikachu went flying after taking what Ash could only assume was an Ice Punch, then the creature lunged at Grotle and the grass type let out a shriek of pain.

Ash stared in horror as Grotle fell to his knees, front right leg badly lacerated from the incredibly sharp claws. Paul swore and recalled his starter immediately. That was a bad injury that needed treatment immediately.

Proton sneered. "One down, Weavile. Finish off that mouse. It's beginning to annoy me."

The dark type snickered evilly and locked its gaze on Pikachu, claws flexing as it prepared to rend its opponent at its leisure. Ash gritted his teeth. This was quickly becoming very one-sided. The Rocket Pokemon were beginning to get serious and started to beat their opponents senseless. The only way they would have a shot at victory was if they took their enemies by surprise.

They needed a distraction, and Ash had only one idea.

"Sobek, destroy that test tube with Stone Edge!" Ash shouted desperately, pointing at the creature that was so important to their enemy.

The Rocket's eyes widened, but none of them had expected the move, so they could only watch as Sobek glared at the tube and is inhabitant, then smashed his fist into the ground. They stared, horrified, as a jagged blade of solid rock punched through the glass, fluid, and straight into the half-formed creature. It's body jerked from the impact and began to dissolve as the liquid in the tube began to leak out of the glass.

"You fucking brat!" Ariana screamed in rage. "Kill him!"

Weavile rushed Ash with blurring speed when Proton repeated Ariana's order and brandished its claws, ready to tear the boy apart. Ash could do nothing- it was too fast for him to avoid, even if he tried to dive out of the way. He brought his arms up in a vain attempt to defend himself-

There was a yellow blur, a flash of claws, and then the gut-wrenching sound of flesh being torn. Ash saw blood spray across the ground with wide, horrified eyes as Pikachu slumped to the ground in front of him and went still.

He fell to the ground beside the electric mouse, vaguely aware of someone screaming. Ash felt like he was in a daze, a bad dream that he couldn't control. But there was no faking the warm liquid flowing onto his hands as it left Pikachu's limp body.

A shudder went through the ground that made his head jerk up. Ash froze as Rhydon- now done fooling about- grabbed Pyro and smashed the Charmeleon into the ground with crushing force. Pyro was stunned and trapped by the raw power of his enemy, and could do nothing as it raised its other fist to crush his skull-

 _"_ _Frenzy Plant!"_

The whole room shook as a dozen thick, thorny vines exploded from the ground beneath Rhydon and drilled right into its body. The attack forced Rhydon to release its prey and actually launched the behemoth into the air to smash it against the ceiling, then curved and whipped it in the back to crush it into the ground. When the dust cleared, Rhydon was unconscious, its stone hide cracked from the violent attack.

Everyone froze in surprise, but spun toward the door to find newcomers- a furious Erika, a scowling Officer Jenny, and Sabrina, as calm and stoic as ever. Beside them was the biggest Venusaur Ash had ever seen, an Alakazam, and an Arcanine. Why the psychic type expert was here, Ash had no idea, but he couldn't bother to think about it much. Pikachu was badly hurt and the Admins were still-

He blinked. The Admins were gone. He was pretty sure he'd only taken his eyes off of them for a few seconds…

Ash looked down at Pikachu and felt his mind go blank. The normally yellow electric mouse had turned almost completely _red_. He didn't know what to do.

"Ash."

He felt someone lift his chin and found Erika there, kneeling in front of him with concern written all over her face. "Recall Pikachu now, Ash. It's bleeding out."

Ash froze and frantically grabbed for Pikachu's pokeball, but he fumbled and almost dropped it. He was shaking- when did he start shaking? His arm was steadied by a gentle hand. Erika guided him to recall the badly injured electric type and then took the pokeball from him. She smiled at him reassuringly. "We'll get Pikachu to the Pokemon Center immediately, okay? Are you injured?"

He shook his head and didn't respond when Erika lifted his chin again to look into his eyes. She frowned and glanced back at Sabrina. "He's in shock. I'll stay here and do what I can for him. Can you get their Pokemon to Joy?"

"Alakazam will see to that," Sabrina replied. Her eyes flashed a menacing red. "Jenny and I have Rockets to interrogate. The Admins escaped via a psychic type whose presence I was not aware of. I must find out its identity."

Erika nodded. "Very well."

Ash couldn't do anything. The next thing he knew, Erika had him wrapped in her arms and he breathed in something sweet that made him feel so sleepy…

* * *

When he woke up, he was no longer in the Rocket Hideout. Instead, he was lying in his bed at the Pokemon Center. Ash blinked and sat up slowly. Had that all been just a horrible dream?

"Ash."

He jerked his head to the side. He hadn't even noticed Erika sitting next to his bed. Ash frowned at her as she watched him carefully. "How do you feel?"

"I…" Ash looked away. "I didn't just dream all of that in the Rocket Hideout, did I?"

Erika shook her head. "I'm afraid not."

"Then Pikachu…" He swallowed hard.

"He's alive," Erika took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "It was close, but Nurse Joy got to him in time. She's been authorized to use Ditto cells for the healing. Your Charmeleon and Krokorok were injured as well, but they're going to be okay."

Ash felt his eyes sting and brought up a hand to cover them. He frowned when she made no mention of the other member of his team that had been fighting. "What about Spectre? My Duskull?"

"Spectre is alright. His injuries were mostly superficial- the Haunter was just toying with him. The other members of your team were the ones that really took the most damage."

He bit his lip, but eventually nodded. Erika patted his cheek. "You three aren't in trouble for what you did. Jenny thought that the injuries you three sustained and the damage done to your Pokemon was punishment enough. But do not try to engage Team Rocket again. You should have known better after Mt. Moon and Pokemon Tower, but they are not enemies that children can fight. You aren't nearly strong enough for that, nor is it your duty."

"We just wanted to help," Ash mumbled. "We couldn't just sit back and do nothing…"

"And you have. You found a Rocket Base and played a huge part in dismantling it," she replied. "But it was foolish of you to attack them on your own. There were _three_ Admins in that base. Each one is Gym Leader class or higher- and I mean when a Gym Leader uses their _real_ team. You saw my Venusaur, yes?"

Ash nodded, so Erika continued. "He is my first partner, and my most powerful. Not even your entire team would stand a chance against him. That is what the Rocket Admins are, especially Proton, who is their military commander."

He swallowed hard. When she said it like that, it made their whole invasion plan sound like a suicide mission.

"Do you understand?" Erika murmured. "Never go seeking out Team Rocket ever again. Do not engage them unless it is life and death. That is not your fight."

Ash bowed his head. She stood up and smiled. "Let's go see Pikachu, okay? Nurse Joy needs to talk to you about him, anyways."

* * *

"Mr. Ketchum. I'm glad to see you're alright," Joy smiled at him, though she looked tired. She sat him and Erika down at an empty table in the Pokemon Center and faced the boy steadily. "I assume you're here to talk about your Pikachu?"

"Yes, ma'am," Ash replied.

Joy's smile wavered. "Well…I'm going to be blunt with you, Ash. He's got a long recovery ahead of him. Weavile's claws didn't just cause massive blood loss, they ruptured his electrical organs. As of right now, he can't use any electric attacks."

He felt his heart rise into his throat. "Wh-what?"

"An electric type Pokemon has special organs in their bodies that generate their power," Joy explained. "If these organs are damaged, they can hinder or cripple an electric type's ability to use electric attacks."

Ash's eyes widened in horror. "Are you saying he won't ever be able to use electricity again?"

"No, he can recover from this," she assured him. "But it's going to be a very long recovery that's going to require specialized rehabilitation. If he isn't trained to use electricity again correctly, it can and will severely hinder his growth. I can't give him that treatment, but there are a few people who can."

"Like who?" Ash demanded. He'd do anything to make sure Pikachu healed properly.

"Who else? Me!"

Literally the very last person Ash expected to show up walked right through the door and made his way towards them. There was no mistaking the massive form of Lt. Surge.

"How did you get here?" Ash asked in surprise.

"Sabrina's Alakazam teleported me here once Joy told her about your mouse a little while ago," Surge suddenly grinned rather nastily. "Frankly, I mostly came here just to interrogate some Rockets. Making bastards like them squeal is something I used to do for a living."

"Language, Lieutenant," Joy said sternly, casting a glare at him. "He's only a child, and he was in shock just twelve hours ago."

"Apologies, miss," Surge dipped his head to her, then looked at Ash. "I offered my help because Joy asked, but also because I told you not long ago that your mouse had the potential to match my Raichu once it grew up and evolved. I've got no intention of letting you get out of that fight. I've rehabilitated electric types that suffered injuries like this in the Cipher Wars. I can take care of your mouse, but it's going to be at least six months until he's ready to start training with you again."

Ash swallowed. Pikachu was the first Pokemon he had ever captured. Leaving him for six months sounded crazy. But crazier was the idea of Pikachu never being able to fight again. Without his electricity, he'd be helpless. All their training to master Volt Tackle and the other electric attacks would be for nothing.

"Okay," Ash managed. "I'm going to miss him, but I just want Pikachu to be alright."

Surge thumped his shoulder with one of his massive hands and nodded firmly. "He's in good hands, kiddo. I've seen worse, even if that sounds crazy. The Cipher War was a shit storm."

"Lieutenant," Joy scowled menacingly.

He just grinned widely and turned to walk away, calling over his shoulder. "See ya, kiddo. Don't go attacking Rockets again without me! I hate missing out on the fun!"

As Surge disappeared (probably to give the Rocket grunts that had been captured absolute hell) Joy scowled. "Honestly, I don't know how my sister deals with that man. He's so abrasive!"

"You're just too used to dealing with me," Erika smiled at her with amusement.

Ash felt his eyes getting heavy and jerked his head awake when the Celadon Gym Leader patted his shoulder to keep him awake. "Go back to bed. Rest for now," Erika told him. "Meet with your friends. We will tell you if anything changes."

He just nodded blearily and made his way back to his room in the Pokemon Center after thanking them all. All he could really do now was rest.

Besides, his head felt like it was going to explode after all of this.

* * *

Ash woke up to a loud knock on his door. He rose with a feeling of deja vu and arched an eyebrow when he found Paul and Gary waiting for him outside- though Gary had a cast around his wrist and Paul looked like he hadn't slept a wink.

He leaned against the doorway and rubbed his eyes. "If you're trying to drag me into another arcade, I think I've played enough games to last a year."

Gary cracked a smile. "Glad to see you've still got a sense of humor. I got worried after I heard about Pikachu. But he's going to be okay, right?"

Ash scratched the back of his head. "He's got a long way to go, but yeah. What about you guys?"

"My team got away mostly unharmed," Gary shrugged. "I got hurt the worst out of all of them."

He looked at Paul, who shook his head with exhausted eyes. "The tendons in Grotle's leg got severed by Weavile's claws. Joy was working on him throughout the night to make sure he wouldn't be crippled for the rest of his life. She finished an hour ago."

"And now you need to go to sleep," Gary used his good hand to pat the other boy on the shoulder. "Go hit the hay, dude. Everyone's alright now."

Paul nodded sleepily and stumbled off, probably to sleep through the rest of the day. Ash didn't blame him. He looked back at Gary, who shrugged. "So…I guess we're not allowed to mess with Rockets anymore."

"Guess not. Erika told me about that last night," he replied.

"You got lucky. Officer Jenny practically blew a fuse on us," Gary shuddered at the horrific memory. "Women are scary as hell when they get mad."

Ash snorted. His mother was the same way. "Yeah, they are."

"Anyways, my team is all healed up and I got the all clear, so I'm leaving," he told Ash. "I think I'll head back to Cerulean City for a bit. There's a Power Plant to the east of there where I think I can go catch an electric type. It's an easier road than going south to Fuchsia."

"Are you going to board the St. Anne when it gets into port?" Ash asked. "When is that, anyways?"

"Almost two months from now," Gary pulled out his Pokedex and smirked. "Ship comes in halfway through July. It's June 1st today. I'll be there. I worked hard to kick Surge's ass and frankly, I want a shot at those tournament prizes."

Ash grinned back. "Not if I beat you to them."

"We'll see about that," Gary replied confidently. He turned and held up a hand in farewell. "See ya later, Ashy boy."

"See you," Ash called after him. He then closed the door and took a breath. He had a few things to do before retrieving his Pokemon from Nurse Joy. Namely, take a shower.

* * *

"Here you go," Joy gave Ash his pokeballs with a smile- only five, he realized with a sinking heart. Pikachu was still being monitored under the watchful eye of her Chansey, and he wasn't allowed any visitors.

"Thank you," Ash replied gratefully. He set the pokeballs on his belt and made to leave, but Joy stopped him for a brief moment.

She smiled at him. "Time heals all wounds, Ash. Even if things look bad right now, life has a way of getting better. Just be patient."

He nodded silently. It wasn't much comfort right now, but she had tried, and he was grateful for it. The only thing he could do now was get back to traveling and get stronger- so strong that nothing like this would ever happen to his team again. Ash clenched his fist tightly.

Never again.

* * *

 **A/N: And that's chapter eight. Sorry it took so long for me to get it out, but I was really torn on how I wanted it to go. I was tearing at my hair for literally hours and rewrote the last half of it like five times before I finally settled on what it is now. To all of you who wished me well for the loss of my family friend, I thank you greatly. It means a lot to me that I have readers willing to offer condolences- especially for a story that's hardly more than a month old. Now, as for review responses, I'm going to divide these between the ones I did not do for chapter six and chapter seven. So, here we go:**

 **Pokemon Guest: In chapter 9 you could have an oc be a real obnoxious jerk that only trades and battles pokemon for the money and items that pokemon sometimes come with and he could have a meowth just so he could get money from the move payday. And his name could be Jerry. Also Love Your Work.**

 **-I feel like there are plenty of obnoxious jerks to go around in Pokemon fanfics. I'll probably add one in eventually, but for now, I think I'll let Team Rocket be the obnoxious ones. Also, my father's name is Jerry, so...yeah, that's not happening lol**

 **Bleachedred shinigami pokemon: Once Ash is done could you make him got to Kalos or Hoenn?**

 **-I have plans for where Ash will be going once he finishes his Kanto travels. You'll just have to wait and see~**

 **Lloryn: I've enjoyed reading your story so far. It's exactly the right pace and I was pleasantly surprised upon seeing Paul in it this early. Also I kept wandering what happened to poor Damian's Charmander now that Ash took a different route and already has one of his own. The same for Bulbasaur and Pidgeotto. It's refreshing to see Ash take a different route and see him travel alone, without him being too much ooc. I've read stories where he's cocky and a bit aloof while not traveling with Brock and Misty, I'm enjoying the way you portray him much better. My condolences on your recent loss. And I look forward to reading the next chapter, whenever you feel up to writing it. Keep up the good work.**

 **-I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I really wanted to take a different path than the one Ash took in the original series. As far as what is going on with the Pokemon he would have captured had this followed the anime, you might see a cameo of one of them now and again, but for the most part I'd like to avoid putting them in and keep this as original as possible.**

 **animal lover13: I'm sorry for your loss (I know you've probable heard that a million times by now, but it's true nonetheless). My grandmother figure- my mom cleaned her house for her and essentially adopted us- died two weeks ago, so I understand what you're going through. On a different note, I have a suggestion for your chapters. Because I do a lot of reading on this site, when I go back and read the new chapters I often forget what has happened or the names of character-particularly for pokemon. Can you put the names and -species? breed?- at the top beginning of each chapter like this (or something similar) Sobek- sandile, Pyro- charmander, just so I (and others like me) can remember who is who. I didn't remember what Sobek was until halfway through the chapter. Keep writing**

 **P.S If you use my character, can you let me know. I forgot to ask you that. My bad.**

 **-I appreciate the kind words and am sorry for your loss as well. I'll likely start to do the lists of Pokemon for each trainer once I hit chapter ten and update the list every few chapters from there on out. In regards to your P.S, I will let you know if I decide to use them. Thank you for your submission :)**


	9. The Road

_Chapter Nine: The Road_

Ash didn't challenge any trainers his first day of travel since leaving Celadon City. He wasn't feeling up to a fight quite yet- not after the events that had transpired at the Team Rocket base just twenty-four hours ago. For now, he was just making his way along Route 16 at a steady pace. It would be a few days of travel on this road until he reached Route 17, which would lead him south towards Fuchsia City. That road was the longest route in Kanto and would take him at _least_ two weeks to traverse.

He ran his hand over the pokeballs at his belt and sighed, disheartened by the missing device in his second slot. Pikachu wouldn't be back for months, even with Lt. Surge rehabilitating him. Ash could only hope for the best.

One of the most frustrating parts was that he hadn't been able to say goodbye to Pikachu. He was in a contained stasis that the Pokemon Centers used for critical care patients. Nearly being disemboweled by a Weavile would leave Pikachu in that room for days with only Nurse Joy and her Chansey for company, if he woke up at all during that time. No outsiders would be allowed in- not even Ash. There was nothing he could do for his partner right now.

Ash hadn't broken the news to his team yet, either. He hadn't seen any of them since the battle had ended. He was trying how to figure out how to tell them. Douse and Eevee didn't even know they'd gotten into a fight with Team Rocket.

He rubbed his temple in an effort to clear some of the stress and glanced at the sky. There was still daylight left, but frankly Ash just wanted to stop for the night. He'd had enough walking for one day.

He set his team loose after finding a small grove of trees that would be good for shelter. They all looked at him and took in his exhausted face with concern. Ash just shook his head. "We're setting up camp for the night. I've got some things to tell you all."

* * *

About an hour later, they finished making camp. Ash threw one last stick onto a pile of branches and glanced at Pyro. "Okay, buddy. Torch it."

Pyro spat a fireball at the bundle of tinder and watched with satisfaction as it caught immediately. They waited for the fire to grow before settling down around it. His team looked at him expectantly- Pikachu's absence had been noticed and became cause for concern.

Ash sat down, took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair. "So as most of you know, we found a Team Rocket base yesterday."

At that, Douse's eyes got wide and Eevee's ears pricked with alarm. Ash nodded grimly and went on. "We went in with Paul and Gary after we found it. Long story short, Proton, Ariana, and a third Admin called Petrel ambushed us there. While we were fighting, Pikachu…"

Ash swallowed and looked at the ground. "Pikachu took a major hit. He's going to have to heal for a while- several months at least, so he can't travel with us."

His team was utterly silent. Pyro and Sobek lowered their eyes. Looking over them, he saw fresh scars from their battle. They had been the ones to get hurt the most after Pikachu, even if their injuries were nothing compared to the electric mouse's. Spectre looked upset as well. He didn't have any visible injuries, which was lucky since Petrel's Haunter hadn't been taking him seriously. Eevee's ears were drooping. It was the first time she'd looked truly sad. Douse looked similarly disheartened, head bowed in dismay.

"I owe you all an apology," Ash murmured. "I dragged us into a dangerous situation because I underestimated our enemies, and Pikachu paid for it. All of you could have been hurt like him or worse…I'm so sorry I put you all through that."

He bowed his head in shame, unable to look at any of them. Recklessness and stupidity wouldn't get him anywhere and the next time he pulled a stunt like that, one of his team could lose their life. It wouldn't just be a bad injury they would eventually heal from- he would be _burying_ them.

Brown fur filled his vision and Ash blinked as Eevee crawled into his lap, curling up there to look at him with sad eyes. Her attempt to comfort him was joined by Pyro, who lay his scaly head on top of Ash's, then Sobek as the croc pressed his snout to the boy's shoulder. Douse placed both of his glove-like hands on Ash's shoulders and Spectre floated up to tap his trainer on the forehead with his wispy arms.

A lump rose up in Ash's throat as his team embraced him. He felt his eyes sting and squeezed them shut while tremors began to wrack his body. It was like a dam had broken to release all of the shock and hurt he'd felt ever since Pikachu had been injured. The reality of how close he'd come to losing his friend finally hit home.

"I won't let this happen to any of you ever again," he choked out. "I promise."

* * *

Ash pushed their training harder than ever from there on out. They trained for hours every evening until they exhausted themselves into sleep. His Pokemon reflected his determination to get stronger by putting in as much effort as they physically could handle without hurting themselves.

It helped that the trainers they encountered on Route 16 happened to be stronger than any of the others he'd met during his travels thus far. They were packing Pokemon that were fully evolved- that wasn't a first for Ash, but it was becoming more and more common as he went along. Those battles were particularly difficult, especially when he encountered Pokemon that he'd never fought before. Opponents like Hypno, Golduck, Rapidash, and Exeggutor were among the strongest of the bunch and really made him pull out all the stops to defeat them.

He was in no rush to make it to Fuchsia City. Ash still had about two months left before the St. Anne would leave Vermillion port, so he made the most of his time on the road to strengthen his Pokemon as much as possible. He would need to if he wanted to win the tournaments on the ship. Any trainer that could defeat Lt. Surge was a threat in his book, and he would treat them like one.

The weather was another reason he kept the pace slow. Summer was in full swing and it was boiling hot outside. Kanto was known for its relatively mild weather, but the halfway point of every year brought with it ridiculous heat waves that drove most trainers and Pokemon to the oceans in order to cool off. On the bright side, the heat also served to energize Pyro and Sobek. It made them even more eager to train and fight as hard as they could.

Speaking of Pyro and Sobek, Ash was beginning to see the signs of their upcoming evolutions. Pyro's tail flame was growing hotter and more intense with each passing day, and his dark red scales were beginning to lighten ever so slightly. It would be a while before he reached the point that was necessary for him to evolve into a Charizard, but it excited him to see visible progress being made. In addition to working on Dragon Rush, Pyro was trying to learn Fire Spin. It wasn't a powerful technique, but it was useful for trapping opponents and required control that Ash felt his starter would need as they learned more advanced moves.

On the contrary to Pyro, Sobek's scales were beginning to get darker in color as he neared evolution. Ash had only seen a Krookodile in a database he'd accessed at Pokemon Centers, but he was eagerly awaiting it. As far as new moves were concerned, Ash wanted Sobek to learn the devastating Earthquake- that would give him even more firepower alongside Stone Edge to ravage enemies. He was one of Ash's most powerful Pokemon next to Pyro, holding more raw power than Eevee, Douse, and Spectre even though Douse had a type advantage over him.

That wasn't to say Douse was slouching. The Poliwhirl had set Pyro and Sobek as a goal to reach and he was working for it. Ash had him practicing Hydro Pump as well as the much simpler Body Slam. It was an easy technique, and quite useful in the right situations- immobilizing a faster adversary, for example. As far as evolving Douse went, Ash had no way of getting either a Water Stone or King's Rock. Frankly, he wasn't even sure where he _could_ get them.

Ash's only concerns with Eevee and Spectre at the moment were making them more powerful. Both of them lacked the sheer power that his other Pokemon did, plus they were new to training. He would work with them to perfect their current move sets before he taught the pair anything else. Spectre especially needed to work on his strength- he had great defensive abilities that Ash would continue to improve on, but he lacked power. In his battle against Erika's Gloom, he had won only by turning the grass type's power on itself. Ash wanted him to reach the point where he could rely on his own power to defeat enemies.

While he traveled, Ash considered adding a new member to his team. He would need one to fill Pikachu's slot while the electric type was recuperating. Whatever he caught would by no means be a replacement for Pikachu, but he knew from the beginning of his journey that he had to obtain more than just six Pokemon. There was nothing wrong with training only a small team, but it made predicting his every move easy.

He would have loved to win a Scyther from the Game Corner, but Ash had no intention of going anywhere near that building again for as long as he lived. Scyther could be found in the Safari Zone near Fuchsia City, though they were ridiculously rare and hard to capture. Ash would have preferred to capture the powerful bug type simply because there weren't many other kinds that could compete in the higher tiers of training. As far as Kanto went, only Scyther and Pinsir were of any use in the finals of the Indigo League Tournaments. If he couldn't obtain either of them, there was always the option of going to Johto to try and capture the slightly more common Heracross, but that was a trip Ash didn't want to make for the time begin.

In addition to wanting a bug, Ash also needed a steel type. Erika had exploited his team's lack of resistances to poison well, even if she had been defeated rather easily in the end. Koga, who was a true poison type expert, would not be so easy to defeat. The man had a reputation on par with Lt. Surge's and Giovanni's. He was crafty and ruthless in battle, though not downright cruel. There was a reason he was being considered as a member of the Elite Four.

The only Pokemon Ash had right now that could exploit a weakness against poison types was Sobek, but Ash didn't think Koga would be that easy to defeat. Even if Sobek could use Moxie without going on a rampage (which was by no means a guarantee) there was no doubt that Koga would find a way to remove him from the battle. He wasn't notorious for nothing, after all.

Steel types were entirely immune to poison type attacks, but they were uncommonly rare, almost as rare as dragons. The only ones Ash was aware of that lived in Kanto natively were Magnemite, Magneton, and the odd Steelix or Scizor. But those were rare at best and none of them could be found around Fuchsia City to his knowledge. He would have to find one at some other point.

Dragon was another type on Ash's bucket list. He would love to capture one of the infamously rare and powerful Pokemon. They were fantastically strong and varied in their abilities, one of the reasons why the current Indigo Champion Lance was so successful with them in battle. The only species of dragon that was native to Kanto was the Dratini line, and they were among the rarest of Pokemon. As far as Ash knew, they could only be found in the deep sea or in a special lagoon at the Safari Zone along with their more powerful evolved form, Dragonair.

The fact that the Safari Zone held some of the rarest Pokemon in Kanto (in addition to Scyther and Dratini) was more than enough reason for Ash to go and check it out. He would definitely be making a trip there at some point while he was in Fuchsia in order to capture a new member for his team.

For now, he had to concern himself with traveling along Route 16 and soon enough, Route 17. Once he reached the latter, he would have around two weeks to finalize a plan to defeat Koga and train his team in preparation for the battle. It would by no means be an easy fight.

* * *

He awoke on the fifth morning of travel on Route 16 to a shriek and furious roars. Ash's eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright, whipping his head around to find the source of the commotion. He locked on Sobek and Pyro snarling at each other and couldn't figure out what they were fighting about until he saw a girl on the ground behind Pyro. It took him only a second to recognize her.

"Leaf!" Ash exclaimed, standing up immediately once he realized what had happened. "Sobek, back off! She's not a threat!"

Sobek spun towards him and paused at the hard look in Ash's eyes. He nodded and backed off, leaving Pyro to snarl in irritation while Leaf stood up and dusted herself off. Apparently, she'd tried to approach their camp while the group was asleep- not a good idea since Sobek could sense vibrations in the ground. She'd likely gotten too close for the croc's comfort and he'd attacked in order to defend Ash and the others.

He couldn't blame Sobek. Only Pyro and Pikachu had ever met Leaf and that had probably saved her from one of Sobek's nasty bites. Pyro probably jumped to her defense the moment Sobek had gotten up to give her a piece of his mind. It was a good thing that the Charmeleon was just as paranoid about Ash's safety as Sobek, especially since the fight against Team Rocket at Celadon.

Leaf stood up and glared at Sobek warily. "I'm pretty sure I didn't deserve that."

"Sorry about that," Ash walked over and scratched the croc's jaw to calm him. "He's just protective. You're lucky Pyro remembers what you look like. Thanks by the way, buddy."

Pyro nodded and growled at Sobek again, getting a huff from his team mate. Ash rolled his eyes at the interaction, smiling at Leaf instead. "I didn't even know you were in the area."

"Gary called me the other day. He filled me in on what happened in Celadon City and where you were going," she replied. Leaf gave him a concerned look. "I'm sorry about Pikachu."

Ash's smile faded. "He's not dead, you know."

"I know, but still…" She frowned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he shrugged. Ash really didn't want to continue discussing the subject, so he changed topics. "So, how have you been? I haven't seen you since Viridian City."

Leaf smiled brightly. "Great, actually! I caught a bunch of new Pokemon and my badge count is up to four. Now I'm going after Koga, same as you."

Ash grinned. "You up for a battle?"

"Not right now. I've been battling people nonstop the last few days and I think my team deserves a day off. Besides, I think you need breakfast," Leaf giggled as his stomach growled loudly. Ash visibly reddened at the unexpected sound and glanced away with embarrassment. That got a snicker from Sobek and Eevee, (who had padded over to join them) and a toothy grin from Pyro.

"Breakfast sounds good," he replied, cringing as his stomach groaned even louder than before. Leaf broke into a laugh.

As usual, breakfast was a relatively simple affair, as it always was. Ash gave each of his team a can of Pokemon food and made himself a sandwich. He was glad that the tech usually associated with pokeballs had been adapted to traveling equipment as well- there was no way he'd have been able to carry nearly a month's worth of food in his bag for his team and himself. As they ate, Leaf filled Ash in on what she'd been up to since Viridian City.

She had taken the same travel path as him up until she left Cerulean City for Saffron. Suspecting that Lt. Surge would have been too great a challenge for her at that time, Leaf had gone straight to Celadon in order to challenge Erika. It was a fight that she won, and only then did she go to Vermillion to battle the electric type Gym Leader. Leaf had also apparently challenged Sabrina, but Ash wasn't surprised to hear that the psychic trainer had defeated her.

"I wouldn't even have called it a battle," Leaf remarked. "She swept me three to nothing with a Kadabra. Can you imagine how powerful her Alakazam is?"

"I don't think that either of us could beat her right now," he admitted, glancing at his team. "Even with Sobek, I'm sure her Alakazam would find a way to defeat us."

Sobek looked up when his name was mentioned, prompting Leaf to give him a curious look. "Where did you get him, anyways? I've never seen a Pokemon like him."

"Actually, I got him in Viridian City after you took off," Ash replied. "He's not native to Kanto. I met Giovanni while I was training and he gave me Sobek."

Her jaw dropped. "You met Giovanni?! Like, the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto, Giovanni? What was he like?"

Ash considered her question for a moment. "Intimidating. He's got some insanely powerful Pokemon too. I got to see his Rhyperior and Nidoqueen while I was there and they're definitely some of the strongest Pokemon I've ever seen."

"And he just gave you a Pokemon?" Leaf asked in disbelief. "Why?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "But I'm grateful for whatever reason he had to give me Sobek. He's one of the strongest Pokemon I have."

"Oh really?" She gave the croc an interested look. "I'd like to battle him. Not to mention the rest of your team. Where'd you get an Eevee?"

He glanced at the small normal type eating her food beside him and smiled. There were still plenty of stories to exchange between them.

"Oh!" Leaf suddenly got an excited look. "Did you get to see Lance's battle the other day?"

"No, I- wait, Lance? Like _Champion_ Lance?!" Ash exclaimed.

"Duh! Who else?" She pulled a PokeNav out of her bag and tapped a few buttons until a video appeared on the screen. "You're lucky I recorded it! He was battling a really powerful trainer that I've never seen before in an exhibition match. I thought the other guy would get creamed, but he had a super strong Pokemon that almost took out one of Lance's Dragonite!"

Ash stared eagerly at the tiny screen as the video began to play. Cheering blasted through the speakers as Lance walked onto the massive Indigo Stadium battlefield. The Dragon Master lifted his hand to wave casually to the crowd, which incited even more cheers. He pulled a pokeball from his belt and released one of the infamously powerful Dragonite- one which appeared slight in stature, but with wings that were obviously larger than average.

Prior to their journeys, Ash, Gary, and Leaf had watched every single Pokemon battle that streamed from the Indigo League that they could. They knew each of Lance's three Dragonite by heart despite never actually seeing them in person. The three dragons had distinct characteristics that made them easy to discern from each other- one of them was huge, even for a Dragonite, with thick claws and scales that were nigh impenetrable. That particular Dragonite had never been defeated on TV before, and Ash suspected it was Lance's starter. The second of the Dragonites was the one currently on-screen. It was average in size for a Dragonite, (which wasn't that big a deal for a dragon that was well over nine feet tall) but had incredible defenses the like of which Ash had never seen before. They had literally watched it tank a super-effective Ice Beam from Lorelei's notoriously powerful Dewgong and shrug it off like it was nothing.

But the most unique (and easily the rarest) Dragonite Lance possessed was his smallest and fastest- a Dragonite with exotic, emerald scales.

Pokemon were occasionally born with alternate colors that occurred naturally in the wild, though the frequency of this happening was ridiculously low. The event was called the Shiny Phenomenon, and it was basically a quirk of genetics caused by a single gene that switched on when a Pokemon developed in its egg. When the Pokemon finally hatched, it would bear exotic colors that were highly prized and often incredible to see. That was the extent of the quirk, however- it wasn't like the Pokemon would be extraordinarily strong or fast, simply unusual.

Ash had never seen any other Shiny Pokemon outside of Lance's Dragonite. They were so rare that even in the major League Championships where trainers congregated by the hundreds, the odds of seeing one were low at best.

He blinked as Lance's Dragonite flared its wings and bellowed loudly, declaring its presence to the watching crowd. The display made the people scream with excitement, though it was at that point that Lance's challenger stepped onto the battlefield.

The man in question was tall, though he appeared rather young- perhaps halfway through his twenties. He had a mess of spiky, light brown hair upon his head and tanned skin, though the only flesh visible was that on his face. A tight blue suit that flared out at his waist covered his torso and both arms, with an extended shoulder plate that on the left side. His left arm's sleeve almost seemed mechanical, minus the black gloves which covered both of his hands. Black pants, boots, and a stripe of what appeared to be white paint across the bridge of his nose finished off the roguish look, but most startling were the man's almost glowing amber eyes. The color was completely unnatural, yet it fit in a way that made Ash suppress a shiver. He had a feeling that this guy hadn't been entirely lawful throughout his life.

That opinion was immediately forgotten when Lance's challenger sent out a monstrous creature that Ash recognized as a fabled Tyranitar- notoriously rare and incredibly powerful, Tyranitar was Johto's answer to Kanto's Dragonite. They were among the most powerful of rock types and had a temper so bad that they would often level entire mountains in their fury. Considering they could set off massive earthquakes as easily as they breathed and spit Hyper Beams at their leisure, it was no wonder that maps had to be redrawn frequently wherever Tyranitar lived.

If this guy could control a Tyranitar, then he was easily Elite Four quality. Tyranitar didn't just listen to anyone and winning their respect likely involved a violent fight to prove the trainer's strength. Ash would have bet his bottom dollar this guy had even more beasts on his team aside from Tyranitar.

Tyranitar roared with a fury that actually made Ash shiver even though he was watching the fight through a video screen. It glared at Dragonite and bared viciously sharp teeth, claws clenching as if the beast were envisioning the dragon in its grasp. Dragonite seemed unfazed, though it was at that point that the battle began.

Immediately, massive blades of stone punched through the ground around Dragonite- a Stone Edge far faster and larger than Sobek's. Ash hadn't even seen Tyranitar so much as twitch, though Dragonite avoided it by blurring away with even greater speed. The dragon type bolted across the field towards its opponent, a flash of yellow scales mixed with green energy as its claws clenched for a counterattack.

To Ash's surprise, Tyranitar didn't even bother blocking the attack and took the Dragon Claw head-on. Dragonite seemed surprised when its attack only scratched Tyranitar's tough, stone armor, and was unprepared for the Ice Beam which blasted it clean in the chest. Despite getting tagged by the super-effective move, Dragonite shrugged it off and glared back at Tyranitar, who roared and began to charge its foe. A focal point of glowing yellow developed at Tyranitar's skull, then streams of purple energy flowed over the beast's body. Ash recognized the move as Giga Impact, another sign of the rock type's strength.

Dragonite met the Giga Impact with a Dragon Rush that was even more perfect than that of Cynthia's Garchomp, and the collision alone made the camera screen flicker before the explosive force actually caused it to die for several seconds. When the image returned, Dragonite and Tyranitar were duking it out in the middle of the battlefield, sharp claws flying in blurs as they slashed and punched at each other with enough force to pulverize stone. Tough yellow scales and the thick green armor began to scratch and dent from the force, and it was looking like a battle of attrition at this point- both of them were ridiculously powerful Pokemon that were determined to show their foe who was superior in terms of brute strength.

Ash watched in awe as the ground around the two titans crumbled and cratered beneath their wrath, spreading cracks along the field as Tyranitar's tail flailed and smashed into the ground, then Dragonite stomped harshly to increase the power of one of its punches. The brawl lasted for several minutes, neither side showing any sign of giving up.

Finally, Dragonite bellowed in what seemed to be annoyance before leaving the close-quarters fight to fly up into the air. Tyranitar roared after it with fury and spat a massive Hyper Beam, but the dragon type dodged the attack effortlessly, turned towards its foe, and vanished into thin air.

Not even a second later, the field exploded upwards as Tyranitar's massive body was slammed into the ground from the impact of Dragonite's attack. Ash had no idea what technique the dragon had used, but it had enough force to make the psychic barriers which protected the spectators flare up in distress. Debris covered the field as Dragonite appeared in the air again, watching the destruction carefully. There was no way-

A Hyper Beam smote Dragonite clean in the face, causing the dragon to caterwaul with fury. The attack knocked it out of the sky and smashed it against the ground, though it got back up and glared at Tyranitar from where the beast was lying in the ruins of Dragonite's finishing move. Tyranitar snarled, but its head fell back a moment later as it fainted. Ash was still impressed though- despite being injured to the point of unconsciousness, the prideful rock type had refused to go down without one last parting shot for Dragonite to remember it by. The dragon was breathing heavily, and even its impenetrable scales looked like they'd been on the receiving end of the worst hammering it had ever endured.

The fight was over though. Tyranitar was declared unconscious and Lance had won. Tyranitar's trainer recalled it silently, showing no signs of frustration or anger, and simply nodded to the Champion, who nodded back. Dragonite roared its victory, and that was where the video ended.

"That was awesome!" Ash exclaimed.

"Right?!" Leaf squealed. "Wasn't that Tyranitar the coolest? I think that's the first time I've ever seen one of Lance's Dragonite meet its match in a fist fight like that!"

He glanced at Leaf curiously. "Who is that guy, anyways? I've never seen him in the League Tournaments, before."

She nodded. "He's new in Indigo, apparently. His name is Wes. All I know about him is that he's from the Orre Region."

"Orre?" Ash echoed in confusion. "Where'd he get something like a Tyranitar, then? I thought Orre was a wasteland. Not even rock or ground types live out there. There aren't even that many people that live out there."

"Your guess is as good as mine," Leaf shrugged. "But he's apparently an Elite Four trainee of sorts. There's not much information on him, but the good news is that he won't be competing in the Indigo Conference this year."

"What Pokemon does he have?"

"The only ones seen publicly so far are his Tyranitar and an Umbreon- and that one hasn't battled at all. I'll bet its pretty strong, though."

"Probably," Ash agreed. He really had no idea how such a powerful trainer had popped up from a ruined wasteland like Orre, but the man in question was evidently strong enough to give even Lance's Dragonite a hard time. That wasn't done easily, by any means.

He couldn't imagine the harsh training it had taken to reach that level. From what he had seen, it was possible that Tyranitar was on the same level as Cynthia's Garchomp. It certainly held a raw force and brutality to match that Ash had never seen before. It was by no means faster than either Dragonite or Garchomp, but what it lacked in speed it made up for in brute strength and an iron will.

Ash wanted his team to reach that point. He bet that if they all boasted similar strength, that not even Team Rocket would be capable of hurting them. The Executives might still be capable of injury, but defeat or a fatality would be impossible if Ash's Pokemon grew powerful enough to wipe the floor with them.

That settled it. The spark he'd felt by watching the intense fight flared to life and he grinned widely. "We're training today, guys! We're not going to stop even if we drop!"

His team watched him curiously. They hadn't seen Ash's desire to train since Celadon, so it was nice to see his enthusiasm had returned. And with a vengeance, it seemed.

Leaf smirked at him. "You got fired up, huh?"

"After seeing that? How could I not be?" He exclaimed, leaping to his feet. "I could train forever after watching a fight like that."

"Fair enough. Mind if I join you?" She asked. At Ash's eager nod, Leaf pulled a pokeball from her waist. "If we're going to train together, we should probably introduce our teams to one another."

She set all of her Pokemon loose then- a full team of six.

First was the Ivysaur Ash recognized as her starter, Saur. The grass type was big for his species, with a squat build similar to Paul's Grotle. The pinkish-red bud on Saur's back was actually starting to open up, signaling his nearness to evolving. He was certainly closer to evolving than Pyro or Gary's Wartortle were, but then again, the Bulbasaur line was known for growing somewhat faster than the other two starters that Professor Oak offered. That didn't make them any less powerful, for Venusaur were considered to be the most powerful grass types native to Kanto.

Her second Pokemon was a Fearow- the same Spearow Ash had battled with Pikachu, he remembered a little sadly. The bird was about the same size as the Fearow he'd captured for Bill way back when, but Talon had a visibly stronger build from months of training and tough battles. He hadn't changed much personality wise- Ash smirked as the bird eyed him rather haughtily, arrogance practically radiating off of him. Talon and Saur were the only two Pokemon Ash knew about in Leaf's party, so from there on, it was all new.

Leaf's third was a Ponyta. Ash had never seen one up close, but it was an elegant creature. The thin, pale yellow hairs covering its body were neatly groomed, showing that Leaf took good care of it. Bright flames rippled along its spine from the top of its head down to its tail, which was also fire. Smaller fires were visible at the back of all four of its legs, just above the knee joints. Both of Ponyta's eyes were black, though they had warm red colors mixed in as well.

The fourth was a Voltorb. Easily recognized by its similarity to a pokeball, the electric type looked just as friendly as the rest of its kind- in other words, it hadn't blown up on him yet. It gave Ash a glare that warned him to stay away, lest he tempt it into exploding. Ash had no intention of getting close to the electric type, even if Leaf told him Voltorb was friendly. He liked having all of his limbs.

He blinked in surprise when Leaf's fifth Pokemon turned out to be an Onix. The massive stone serpent was the first he'd seen since Brock's Onix, though its crest was longer and its stone segments thicker. Ash guessed it was probably older than the one he'd fought in Pewter City, though how old was impossible to tell- Onix grew incredibly slowly in the wild and could live for centuries, if not longer, underground. They were biologically immortal and rarely left the underground for the surface, so the only place one could actually find them was in caves. It wasn't like they were easy to house, either, but the good news was that Onix ate soil, which happened to be everywhere.

Ash didn't have the foggiest idea where Leaf had captured the Onix, but it definitely suited her. Like him, she was fond of using brute force to win battles, and a twenty-five foot rock serpent was all about brute force.

The final Pokemon Leaf released made him grin- it was a small bear-like creature that resembled the teddy Leaf had when they were five. Her mother had promised to get her a real Teddiursa for her next birthday, and it looked like she'd followed through on that promise. That reminded him-

"Happy birthday," he told her, causing the girl to smile brightly. Leaf was the oldest of the Pallet trio, and her birthday had been just earlier this week on June 1st. Gary would be next in August and Ash last in early September.

"Thanks. Mom got a hold of her breeder friend in Johto and he pulled through. I got Teddiursa a couple of weeks ago. Isn't he cute?" Leaf picked up the small bear and held him up easily. The normal type licked her arms happily, which made her giggle. Ash was willing to bet that tickled.

Leaf held Teddiursa against her chest and turned to look at the rest of her team. "Right, well you already know Saur and Talon. Say hello, guys!"

Saur grunted a simply greeting and Talon spread his wings out to look as imposing as he could before shrieking loudly. Ash smirked- Talon really hadn't changed a bit.

"Next is Rose," Leaf nodded to the Ponyta that was at this point grazing on the grass at her feet. The fire type looked up when her name was called and whinnied when Leaf smiled at her before returning to her snack. Ash could tell that she liked to eat- Rose hardly took her eyes away from the free food available to her.

"This is Bomber," she gestured to the Voltorb, who whirred aggressively. Leaf smirked at the evidently common behavior. "Bet you can't guess where he got his name."

"I can imagine," Ash replied dryly. Bomber glared at him and vibrated slightly, causing electricity to arc along his spherical body. He looked even more peeved than before and that caused Sobek to snarl. The electric type's glare immediately locked onto the crocodilian and the pair of them began to posture aggressively until their trainers broke them up.

"Sobek, enough," Ash told him cooly. "I'm sure you'll get to battle him at some point."

Sobek snapped his jaws to show off his huge fangs and stopped growling, though his eyes never left the angry looking Pokemon. He apparently held a grudge against Voltorb as a species after Lt. Surge's Voltorb one-shotted him with an Explosion. It had to be said that Sobek had been under the effects of his Moxie ability and hadn't been thinking clearly at the time, but he had no problem remembering the event well enough.

He would have his redemption- even if that wasn't right now.

Leaf smiled when Bomber rolled towards her and settled at her feet, still glaring at Ash's team with a completely peeved expression that suited his small and troublesome species a little too well. She knelt and rubbed the spherical creature, who relaxed slightly under her touch. Teddiursa jumped out of Leaf's arms to stare at Bomber, but he dared not touch his electric type teammate.

Bomber looked like he would explode on anyone that wasn't Leaf.

"Anyways," Leaf continued. "I haven't given Teddiursa a nickname yet because he's still pretty young. I'll ask him if he wants one when he's a little older. My last is Onix. I got him in the Rock Tunnel by Lavender Town. Pretty cool, huh?"

Onix roared and lifted his body to his full height, an impressive twelve feet, and that was with the other half of his body still lying on the ground. Ash remembered from reading the Pokedex that Onix generally maxed out at thirty feet before evolving into Steelix and getting even bigger, but that took time. He was willing to bet that Leaf's Onix wasn't fully grown, though it was likely to grow faster now that it was training and battling constantly.

Wild Onix rarely fought unless they were competing against one another for territory. Their lives were simply spent underground- feeding on rich soil and excavating tunnels as they searched for more nutrients to supplement their enormous stone bodies. However, they were still Pokemon, and a general rule among Pokemon was that they grew stronger and faster through constant battling. Onix were known to grow much more quickly when they were well trained, contrary to their usually lazy way of life in the wild. It wasn't always easy to convince them to fight as a result of this attitude, but once someone earned an Onix's respect, they could be fearsomely powerful.

Leaf smiled once her team was introduced. "Well, that's everyone on my end. Your turn!"

"Okay. Well, you know Pyro," Ash gestured to his starter, who thrashed his tail and spat a fireball into the air in an effort to show off. He rolled his eyes at the attempt to appear dangerous. "Yes, Pyro, we know how scary you are. Next is Sobek,"

The Krokorok snapped his jaws again and roared, flexing his claws and lashing his tail to one-up Pyro. The Charmeleon growled at him in annoyance, but didn't pick a fight.

"Eevee," he continued. Eevee was currently licking her paws clean and looked up at Leaf when her name was called, but didn't react otherwise. She was still skittish around people with the exception of Ash, who was just happy that their relationship was improving.

"Douse," Ash gestured to his Poliwhirl next. Douse beat a fist against his round body and gurgled a greeting, to which Leaf waved back. No surprises there- Douse was basically the friendliest member of Ash's current team when it came to outsiders, with only one other member matching him.

"And Spectre," he finished. The Duskull floated over to Leaf and tapped her forehead. She blinked in response and hesitantly tapped his skull mask, causing the ghost to make a cheery, hollow noise before he took her hat and set it on his own head. His antics made her giggle.

"He's a funny one," Leaf admitted. "So, shall we start training? How about we divide everyone into pairs? We can have one group of three to make up for the odd numbers."

"Sounds good to me," Ash agreed. He glanced at his team. "Alright guys, see anyone you'd like to train with?"

Sobek immediately glared at Bomber, who leered back in response. Ash rolled his eyes. He'd seen that one coming a mile away. Leaf apparently did as well, because she smirked. "Alright, you two go and warm up. Bomber, don't go blowing up at random, okay?"

Bomber sparked again to express his displeasure at the news, but didn't complain any further and rolled away with Sobek following him. Ash had a feeling that relationship wouldn't be fixed anytime soon.

Spectre floated over next and got in Teddiursa's face to peer at the small bear. To Teddiursa's credit, he only looked curious of the ghost type and patted the skull mask fearlessly. Spectre seemed pleased by the act and began to float around his chosen partner. Ash was fine with that matchup as well- Spectre wasn't particularly powerful yet and since normal and ghost type moves cancelled each other out, they wouldn't hurt each other too badly. That was good for Teddiursa, who was according to Leaf, still fairly young.

Rose actually picked next. The Ponyta trotted over to Pyro and whinnied, causing the other fire type to snort smoke. Ash hadn't expected the gluttonous horse to pick one of his most aggressive Pokemon for a training partner, but they were both fire types, so it did make sense.

The next surprise was when Saur plodded to Eevee and grunted. Eevee looked the grass type over warily, but accepted the proposition. He assumed Saur had selected Eevee because she simply seemed to be the calmest of his team. The Ivysaur wasn't a very energetic creature outside of battle, if he was anything like he'd been as a Bulbasaur.

That left Douse, Talon, and Onix for the team of three. Douse walked over and looked up at Onix to gurgle a greeting as Talon flew up to sit atop the stone serpent's head. Onix roared a response and the Fearow leered down at his new training partner with obvious disdain. Douse didn't seemed bothered by the angry bird, however, and simply beat a fist against his spiral belly.

"Okay, I think that's everyone," Ash decided, though he was sad that Pikachu wasn't here to train with them. He could just imagine the electric mouse giving Talon a look of mischievous glee- no doubt the Fearow would find defeating him much more difficult this time around.

If only.

Leaf seemed to pick up on his slight sadness and moved to get the training started immediately. "Alright everyone, start warming up! Ash and I will have a quick chat about what you'll be working on and then we'll come around to tell you the plan!"

A chorus of growls, grunts, screeches, chirps, and roars answered her, then the Pokemon all headed off to prepare themselves for training. Leaf turned back to Ash with a smile and he pushed his unhappy feelings aside. There was work to be done.

* * *

"Good job, Pyro! Keep it up!" Ash encouraged his starter as the fire lizard unleashed a stream of flame on a target boulder and kept it up for a few seconds before it sputtered out. Pyro growled with satisfaction and glanced to the side as Rose stepped forward to match him with a fire type move of her own called Incinerate. It was similar to Flamethrower, but had a slightly weaker flame that was based more on precision than raw, overwhelming force.

Rose reared up on her back legs, then came down and breathed out the small, intense flame upon the same boulder as Pyro. She was only able to shoot it once instead of hold the flame for a duration, but it was still a good, accurate shot. Ash had no doubt that Leaf had helped hone the Ponyta's accuracy so that opponents would find avoiding her long-range moves difficult. Their breed was generally better at using their great speed and tough bodies for physical attacks, but there was always value in moves that hit at a distance.

Ash nodded as Rose had her turn, then Pyro took over again. He glanced around the field to look at the rest of their training Pokemon, noting the progress of his own team. They'd been at it for several hours now and from what he could see, everyone was making good progress. While Pyro worked on the strength and duration of his fire attacks, Sobek tried to tag Bomber with his Stone Edge. It was driving the Krokorok insane- Stone Edge was still a pretty slow attack and it wasn't very accurate since he'd only known it for a short time. Bomber had little trouble evading the rock type move and constantly fired shots of harmless electricity at the croc, aggravating him further.

He was keeping a wary eye on that particular skirmish. Surge's words continued to echo in his head, reminding Ash that Sobek's aggression was a real problem during battle, especially when Moxie activated. If Sobek got boosts from his ability, he snapped and wouldn't respond to Ash's commands. At that point, he was a legitimate danger to an opponent's Pokemon because Ash wasn't sure if he would heed a "stop" command. It was a problem that really needed addressing, but he had no idea where to begin.

Elsewhere, Douse and Onix were trying to hit Talon as the Fearow danced through the air in an evasion exercise. Talon performed a variety of aerial acrobatics as his two training partners tried to shoot him out of the sky with moves like Scald, Ice Beam, and Dragon Breath. It was impressive how easily Talon evaded them, but Ash smirked when Douse shot an Ice Beam that was obviously a little close for comfort because the Fearow shot Douse a nasty look.

Spectre and Teddiursa's training was based mostly on mastering new moves. Spectre was still working on Shadow Ball and Leaf wanted Teddiursa to try and learn Slash. The convenience of their partnership was that ghost type moves wouldn't work on Teddiursa and normal type moves had no effect on Spectre, so they could practice aiming at each other without worrying about hurting their partner. That was great for Teddiursa, who was still fairly young. Ash suspected Spectre had selected the little bear as his partner because of that. After all, the Duskull had played with young Pokemon back in Lavender Town at Mr. Fuji's Day Care. This was probably a familiar game to him.

Ash really had no idea what to expect when Saur picked out Eevee for his training partner, but it was practically a full-blown battle that Leaf was overseeing. Saur was trying to smack Eevee with his Vine Whip while the normal type did her best to evade every single attack he launched. Once the Ivysaur finished his string of moves, she retaliated by unleashing a flurry of Shadow Balls and Swift attacks, which Saur did his best to endure. Leaf wanted his endurance to rise because evasion would be even more difficult once he evolved, so Saur would have to be capable of withstanding much more damage than he was used to.

Eevee was a perfect partner for that kind of training. She wasn't as powerful as Pyro or Sobek, but she was a ferocious attacker and put everything she and into each move. Ash winced when a Shadow Ball exploded in Saur's face, causing the grass type to flinch back and growl in pain. Even Leaf was wincing whenever a Shadow Ball made direct contact. Eevee was ridiculously good at making those hurt.

He was happy with the progress Eevee was making. She was training seriously now and he had hope that she would be willing to participate in one of their next Gym Battles. Ash had sprung Erika's battle on her in Celadon and that hadn't impressed Eevee one bit, but fortunately, she never had to actually fight since Pyro had taken care of it. However, he was certain she would be more open to the idea after training with them for a while longer. She was definitely more enthusiastic about it.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang and a furious roar that made everyone freeze. Ash spun around, eyes widening when he realized that Bomber had exploded for some reason and hit Sobek, igniting the croc's fury. There was no telling why Bomber used Self-Destruct, but it had happened and now Sobek was well and truly pissed off. Even worse, Ash saw the red glow in Sobek's eyes as his Moxie was triggered. Usually, he recalled the ground type after he won a battle because it was so difficult for him to control his anger, but Ash was unprepared for it this time.

Not good.

Sobek smacked Bomber with his tail, sending the unconscious Voltorb flying away while he roared again. Pyro recognized the danger and lunged at his teammate before Ash could respond, roaring a challenge to get the Krokorok's attention. Sobek whipped towards Pyro and snapped at the fire type, but Pyro ducked under the bite and tackled Sobek viciously with a Dragon Rush. The attack forced Sobek back, still growling aggressively.

Leaf looked appalled by the whole debacle and recalled Bomber quickly while she watched with wide eyes, but her Pokemon weren't as shocked. Talon shrieked at Sobek and dove at the Krokorok from behind. He was obviously expecting to take the threat by surprise.

Talon did _not_ expect Sobek to whip around, punch his claws right into the earth, and launch a massive spire of rock at him. The Fearow had no chance to avoid the empowered Stone Edge and got hit dead-center in the middle of his chest, delivering such an impact and shock that Talon was knocked out by the already super-effective move.

Ash blanched as Sobek's eyes practically glowed crimson as his second Moxie boost was triggered.

So not good.

He roared furiously and made to attack Talon again while the bird was down, but Pyro blasted him with a Flamethrower to get his attention. The Charmeleon scrambled to escape a Stone Edge that was even bigger than the one that had taken down Talon.

The good news was that Sobek's endurance wasn't increased by Moxie. That meant if they hit him with a solid attack, he'd probably go down. He wasn't Ash's most durable fighter.

The bad news was that he had two Moxie boosts up and could probably take out most of their other Pokemon with one or two attacks. Not to mention he was far more aggressive than normal and wouldn't respond to Ash's orders.

Ash didn't have a chance to recall Sobek because he kept darting around in an attempt to hit Pyro, who was just fast enough to evade the quick bites and slashing claws, as well as the random Stone Edges that Sobek launched. He had hope that Pyro might be able to tire Sobek out like that until Leaf shouted an order to her Onix and the stone snake lashed out at Sobek with an Iron Tail.

It was a good attempt- until Sobek noticed the attack and his claws glowed an ominous black. Ash realized with horror what he was going for and shouted the warning to Leaf and Onix too late. "No! Don't-"

The Iron Tail hit Sobek from the top and hurt him, but then the croc's Foul Play turned the power of Onix's attack against him and launched the steel type move right back at its user. There was a loud, sickening crack, and then Onix bellowed in surprise and pain as his own Iron Tail- now stronger thanks to Sobek's empowered Foul Play- smashed the underside of his jaw and knocked his head back into the ground with devastating force.

Up until now, Ash had only seen Sobek's Moxie boost him twice in a row at the most. Surge had sacrificed his Voltorb to defeat the croc and prevent him from going any further.

Sobek got a third boost following Onix's defeat and now the crimson glow was radiating over his whole body from his scales. He roared savagely while his eyes glowed a pounding red. Ash felt the ground tremor and he seriously hoped that Sobek wasn't about to try using Earthquake because it would probably floor the lot of them and wreck the field they were using.

The raw power Sobek emanated had Ash thinking that he might actually start evolving prematurely because of the incredible rush of adrenaline going through his body. He wasn't sure how that would go because Sobek still hadn't reached that point naturally, not to mention there was the risk of his Moxie-induced fury being passed on to an evolved form and making his rampage even more dangerous.

Ash was legitimately starting to panic as Sobek stopped basking in his power and began to glare around for a target to take his rage out on, but it was at that point that Pyro decided he'd had _enough_.

The Dragon Rush that collided with the back of Sobek's skull held the raw fury of Pyro when he was aiming at an enemy. Ash flinched as Pyro literally smashed Sobek's face into the ground with enough force to create a small crater beneath him. He saw blood and several broken fangs on the dirt and feared for just a moment that Pyro had taken it too far.

The crimson glow of Moxie faded from Sobek when he fainted, but Ash didn't relax until he saw the sandy scales move as the ground type breathed. Several of Sobek's teeth had been broken from the violent impact of Pyro's Dragon Rush and his mouth was bleeding, but the teeth would grow back. As it was, the Charmeleon snorted angrily and kept a clawed foot on his teammate's back just in case Sobek got up.

As he recalled Sobek, Leaf walked over to him and stared at the pokeball in Ash's hand with wide eyes. "What just happened?"

Ash grimaced. "Sobek lost control."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," she snapped. "Pokemon don't just lose it for no reason. Explain to me in detail what just happened- because I'm still having a problem with processing the fact that your crocodile just took out Talon and Onix on his own."

"Sobek's ability is Moxie," Ash began. "Basically, every time he defeats an opponent, he gets an adrenaline boost that enhances his power. The problem is that it makes him really aggressive and he just starts attacking everything in sight."

Her jaw dropped. "Wait- then he freaks out like this every time you battle someone?"

"No, usually I recall him after he beats just one opponent," he said immediately. "I can't get him to control himself, so I stop him before he can get to this point. But I didn't expect Bomber to just explode like that. It caught me off-guard and I didn't think about recalling him until it was too late."

"…I guess that's partly my fault," Leaf mumbled guiltily. "Thing is, Bomber has a tendency to blow up if he gets hit a few times. I only caught him a couple of weeks ago, so I haven't gotten a chance to work on that. I didn't even think about it, to be honest."

"Sobek probably tagged him once too often and that made him explode," Ash sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. In hindsight, neither of them had mentioned their individual Pokemon's issues, so the misinformation was the fault of them both. It had just been really bad luck that they'd put together the most volatile two Pokemon in a sparring match- that was a disaster just waiting to happen.

Leaf pursed her lips. "I think that's enough training for today, don't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to start heading for Fuchsia City. Do you want to tag along?"

"Sure. Bomber and the others should be fine after a night of rest. How about Sobek? I saw a few of his teeth broke when Pyro hit him."

"They'll grow back. He loses them all the time. Thanks by the way, Pyro," Ash smiled at his starter. "I don't know what we would've done if you hadn't been here."

Pyro snorted a small burst of fire and puffed his chest out a little. That made Ash smirk- Pyro knew he was important.

"Well let's get going," Leaf looked up at the sun thoughtfully. "We should be able to cover some decent ground today."

* * *

They got a look at the real damage of their earlier training accident that night at camp.

Ash winced when Sobek opened his jaws- Pyro had not been gentle when he knocked his teammate out. Most of the teeth in his upper jaw were broken or chipped and he definitely looked uncomfortable. Ash realized that some of the broken bits of tooth had been embedded in his gums and he spent a half hour pulling them out as gently as possible. Sobek looked miserable during the entire process, partly from pain, but also from guilt. He knew that he'd messed up.

Ash couldn't say that he was truly upset with Sobek because it wasn't like he intentionally got violent. Moxie was just a quirk of his anatomy that was difficult to manage. Besides, Sobek really was sorry for the havoc he'd caused.

And havoc was definitely the right word for what had happened.

When Leaf set Bomber loose, she chastised him as gently as she could for blowing up at random, but the Voltorb didn't seem particularly perturbed. He wasn't hurt too badly. Voltorb and Electrode were built to explode violently and make it out okay in the end. A little rest would help, but Bomber would be blowing himself up again in no time.

Which was more than could be said for Talon and Onix.

Talon had taken the brunt force of Sobek's Stone Edge right in the chest. Bird Pokemon didn't have incredibly strong bones compared to others, though they were certainly tough. Getting stabbed by a super effective, enhanced rock type move was not advisable, and Talon was paying for it. He was badly bruised and felt pretty tender, so Leaf applied a potion to the location of his injury and decided to let him rest for a few days before letting him train again.

Ash and Leaf both paled when they saw Onix. His jaw had a huge crack along the stone that was obviously painful for the rock snake. Sobek's Foul Play had used Onix's own power against him and driven his enormous Iron Tail attack right into his face. The good news was that it would regenerate with enough time and rest. Onix's stone body would heal on its own, though Leaf applied a potion along the entire length of the injury to accelerate the process.

He was just grateful that it was such a simple fix. If Sobek had hit a Pokemon that was flesh and blood with the same nasty combination, he probably would have shattered its whole jaw. That was an injury that would hospitalize almost anything for weeks, if not longer.

They had gotten lucky. The aftermath wasn't completely disastrous.

Ash scratched the underside of Sobek's sore jaw as the croc let out a groan of pain. His whole face was going to hurt until his broken teeth were replaced. Ash had already made the decision to give him a few days off until they could grow back in.

"Easy there, Sobek," Ash reassured him. "Just rest, buddy. It's a new day tomorrow."

Sobek slowly closed his eyes and let out a pained hiss. He was reluctant to move his mouth at all, but his jaws came together with an obvious wince before he finally fell asleep. Ash frowned worriedly. He hadn't seen Sobek this beaten up…ever. Pyro had really knocked the piss and vinegar out of him.

Then again, Pyro had also hit him with the best Dragon Rush Ash had ever seen from the Charmeleon. Ash hadn't gotten the chance to really say anything about it because of the chaos instigated by Bomber and Sobek, but it had to be said that Pyro was getting closer than he realized to perfecting the notoriously difficult dragon type move.

But at the end of the day, Ash and Leaf were just happy that no one had been critically injured.

Ash wasn't sure he could have handled another near-fatal injury so soon after Pikachu.

* * *

Route 17 was where the forest ended. From there on, the whole landscape was prairie, with a few trees scattered across the grassy plains. It was incredibly hot and the only ones that actually enjoyed the heat were Pyro, Sobek, and Rose, though Sobek spent most of the time in his pokeball to rest.

There weren't many trainers on the road aside from themselves- even fewer of which actually wanted to pick a fight, though there were plenty of Pokemon to look at. Herds of Ponyta and Rapidash were a common sight, as well as the odd herd of Nidoran and their evolved forms. Ash and Leaf never approached the Nidoran herds because there were always aggressive Nidorino guarding them, as well as the odd Nidoking here and there. Nidoqueen weren't much of a problem unless you threatened them first, but they didn't want to provoke the matriarchs and kept their distance.

Packs of Growlithe could be seen now and then chasing Rattata across the grasslands until the rats got to their parents, at which point, the Raticate would scare the puppies back to the adults. They rarely saw any Arcanine, but were always aware of their presence.

For the most part, the two trainers stayed away from the large groups of Pokemon because the adults could be very defensive. Leaf had thought about trying to catch one of the Nidoran, but the next herd they came across had a particularly angry looking Nidoking defending it that warned her off without so much as a growl.

They spent the first nine days traveling the plains, keeping up with their training and watching the health of their recovering Pokemon carefully. Aside from the scorching heat, it was actually fairly nice.

* * *

By day ten, Sobek had recovered fully from the negative effects of his latest rampage and was raring to go for difficult training. The croc was more than ready to get back to work. Anything was probably better to him than sitting about and waiting for his teeth to grow back. Now that he had a full set of fangs again and was ready to wreak havoc on whatever Ash pointed to, Sobek just wanted to train, train, and train.

Ash took him aside one evening a good distance from their camp and finally got to work on the new move he wanted Sobek to learn.

"Alright buddy, we're going to try out Earthquake," Ash explained. "From what I read in the Pokedex, it's just a matter of using ground type energy to set off a quake using yourself as an epicenter. Try jumping up and setting the quake loose when you hit the ground."

Sobek nodded eagerly, fangs bared in barely-concealed delight. Ash smirked at his enthusiasm. Sobek's taste for wanton destruction never truly diminished.

He backed away a good distance and called to Sobek once he felt safe. "Alright, Sobek! Earthquake!"

Ash watched as Sobek leapt straight up several feet, then came down with powerful stomps-

He felt a mild tremor go through the ground, but it wasn't even enough to make Ash stumble. The boy blinked as the ground around Sobek remained utterly unchanged, much to the croc's surprise. Sobek stared around at his feet with a confused expression before jumping up and trying it again. The second time failed to produce visible results as well.

Sobek's eyes flashed with annoyance and he jumped again. And again. And again. Ash tried and failed to hold back a snort as the croc began to jump up and down with his fangs bared like a frustrated child. Little tremors were going through his body, but he was having trouble telling if they were from Sobek or his own amusement.

Sobek finally roared in frustration and gave the ground a scathing look, like he could scare it into making Earthquake work.

"Take a breath, Sobek," Ash ordered as he came back over to the crocodilian. "Try it again. Let's see if we can figure out what's going wrong."

He watched carefully as Sobek jumped again and hit the ground, releasing the familiar, weak shockwave that Ash had felt from his earlier attempts. He chewed his lip thoughtfully for several minutes before coming up with a suggestion. "Try setting it loose a little more slowly. Maybe you don't have enough power yet to make the quake with just the moment of impact."

Sobek nodded and prepared himself one more time. When he jumped and came down this time, the quake wasn't set off like before, but Ash felt the pressure building around the crocodilian. It was only then that he realized he hadn't backed off yet.

He yelped as Sobek set the Earthquake loose and ruptured the ground around him, sending cracks everywhere and successfully making Ash trip and land flat on his rear end. A small crater had been formed where Sobek had focused his power, a sign that he'd performed Earthquake correctly. It was by no means perfect and it certainly wasn't dangerous enough to use in battle yet against anything but the weakest of opponents, but that was progress in Ash's eyes.

He stood back up to find Sobek staring at him in concern, but Ash waved it off with a grin. "Good job, Sobek! I knew you could do it."

Sobek bared his fangs with satisfaction and clapped his jaws together loudly, a sign of his pride. Ash backed off again and turned to face his partner as Sobek tensed for his command.

"Again."

It would be a long night.

* * *

They were just a day away from Fuchsia City and Ash still wasn't sure how he was going to defeat Koga. All the training they had done over the past two weeks during their travels with Leaf definitely improved their power, but only time would tell if it was enough to win the coveted Soul Badge. Koga didn't hand badges out for free- they would have to work for it, shed sweat, blood, and tears to earn their prize.

All Ash could hope for was that they'd worked hard enough to give Koga a run for his money.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the wait, everyone!. I was having difficulty deciding what to write for this chapter, then I got backed up even further with my crazy work schedule. The good news is I do have a plan for how I intend the net chapter to go, so it will be out faster than this one. So without further ado, here are the review responses for chapter eight:**

 **smurfninjaman: I'm so glad I've found another Pokemon story to enjoy can't wait for more, I'm gotta wonder if you've thought about what Douse will evolve into (Poliwrath or Politoad) since that might effect his actual personality a bit (Poliwrath are most likely quite aggressive while Politoad would be more carefree and possibly be a prankster), anyway I can't wait for more.**

 **-Truthfully, I haven't fully decided what evolution Douse will have, so I suppose we'll just have to wait and see ;)**

 **Ultimate Black Ace: So it seems that Paul and Gary do know one another, with Paul apparently being the stronger of the two. So, it seems like Paul is currently the strongest of the three. He also seems to be overshadowing Gary somewhat, as we've seen him a bit more and he's taking a more active position in this chapter's story as well, even if all three boys attacked Rocket. That said, still a good chapter for Gary. He showed thoughtfulness and got an evolution for his team. Project Darkwing... Could that be the Shadow Lugia from XD: Gale of Darkness? If so, Team Rocket has just become a much greater threat, since Ariana couldn't handle the Spiritomb in Pokemon Tower. Project Origin was obviously Mewtwo. Unsure if I should take that as a reference to Pokemon Origins, Mew as the ancestor of Pokemon (assuming non-Legendaries anyways), or both.**

 **Well. This chapter certainly became the darkest of all of them thus far, with a near death experience that's in some ways even worse than Mt. Moon, especially with its long term consequences. That said, Sabrina, Erika and Jenny really did manage to save the day here, really showing what happens when these characters get serious. Lt. Surge as well I particularly appreciated that. Guessing that Pikachu was also taken out of the story, temporarily, in order to make room for Ash's next Pokemon then. This was a surprising twist, since Pikachu is Ash's signature Pokemon in the anime. Surge may also end up making Pikachu stronger, but I really don't have a problem with that. If Ash does benefit in the long run, this is a major impediment for the short term, which is not quite the same "the world itself is on his side" feeling that I had when writing my first review. He didn't even get the Scyther he wanted from the Game Corner, while both Paul and Gary got new Pokemon.**

 **-Yes, Paul and Gary are familiar with one another, though the balance of power is constantly shifting since they're both still growing as trainers. As for him overshadowing Gary, the reason for that this chapter is mostly because this is Gary's first encounter with Team Rocket. Paul's been there and done that, so this is something he's familiar with. But yes, Gary did get an evolution. Project Darkwing...I will not comment on because that would involve ridiculously massive spoilers. Same thing with Project Origin. I wanted the story to take this dark turn because the thing about this fic is that it isn't going to always be sunshine and flowers like the anime usually is. There will be good times for the characters, but there will also be very difficult times that they'll have trouble getting through. Pikachu's absence at this point was actually planned from the beginning of the fic, and part of the reason I added that bit in was because I wanted the readers to understand that no, the world is not on Ash's side. He's going to go through a lot as he gets older and stronger, and there will be times when things get even uglier than they did in Celadon City.**

 **Mills65: Well damn I read the chapter title as Consequence and once it got rolling, I knew someone was going to lose a Pokemon one way or the other. Then you almost fooled me with Gary's injury believing that he was going to die or something and you were going to go extremely dark. I don't know how I would have felt. Instead you hit it with lovable Pikachu saving Ash and taking the hit itself. That was really well written and I was holding onto every word trying to see what would happen next. I assume Pikachu's departure opens up another slot for a Pokemon right now but we'll see what you do with that**

 **Besides that emotional moment, the chapter was pretty good though! Seeing the trio of boys together was really good but I can't help but wonder where is Leaf in all of this. I am sure we'll see her soon. I love Spectre and Sobek's little warning to Ash almost by being so alert, it definitely caught my attention and I knew Team Rocket was coming after that lol. But like always, it was a good read and I can't wait to read more Have a wonderful day!**

 **-lol I knew that the chapter title would get people thinking like "Oh boy, what's this crazy writer about to spring on me now?" Hahaha. As I said in my response to Ultimate Black Ace, Pikachu's injury and extended absence from this point on was actually an aspect that I planned when the story was still just a concept. I really wanted people to realize that Ash isn't going to have everything work out perfectly for him. Not just Ash, either; several of the characters in this story are really going to have a hard time dealing with the challenges ahead.**

 **As for Spectre and Sobek's little warning to Ash by being so alert...who's to say Team Rocket was necessarily what had them so riled up?**


	10. Green Eyes

**Here's the list of main trainers and their rosters, just like I promised!**

 **Ash:**

 _(On hand)_

 _-Pyro (Male Charmeleon)_

 _-Sobek (Male Krokorok)_

 _-Eevee (Female)_

 _-Douse (Male Poliwhirl)_

 _-Spectre (Male Duskull)_

 _(Undergoing rehabilitation)_

 _-Pikachu (Male)_

* * *

 **Gary:**

 _(On hand)_

 _-Wartortle (Male)_

 _-Pidgeotto (Female)_

 _-Kadabra (Male)_

 _-Graveler (Male)_

 _-Machop (Male)_

 _-Nidorina (Female)_

 _(At Oak's Lab)_

 _-Growlithe (Female)_

 _-Meowth (Female)_

 _-Raticate (Male)_

 _-Weepinbell (Female)_

 _-Krabby (Male)_

 _-? (From Game Corner)_

* * *

 **Leaf:**

 _(On hand)_

 _-Saur (Male Ivysaur)_

 _-Talon (Male Fearow)_

 _-Rose (Female Ponyta)_

 _-Onix (Male)_

 _-Bomber (Voltorb)_

 _-Teddiursa (Male)_

* * *

 **Paul:**

 _(On hand)_

 _-Grotle (Male)_

 _-Electabuzz (Male)_

 _-Nidorino (Male)_

 _-Cubone (Male)_

 _-Tentacruel (Female)_

 _-Porygon_

* * *

 _Chapter Ten: Green Eyes_

"Say, did you get any TMs at Celadon City?" Leaf asked Ash.

He nodded. "Yeah. I picked up three of them while I was there. I didn't want to get too many and blow all my cash. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I hadn't really thought of this until now," she began. "But I got some TMs there as well. I was thinking that maybe if we could help each other. You got some of the reusable ones, right?"

"Yeah," Ash confirmed. "Iron Tail, Brick Break, and Scald. I got Scald in Cerulean City, though."

"I only got Incinerate and Solar Beam because Solar Beam was so expensive," she admitted. "I think we can do something with this. I've actually been meaning to get Teddiursa his first TM, but he can't learn any of the ones I have on me. I'll tell you what- let me use that Brick Break TM you have on Teddiursa and you can use either of my TMs on one of your Pokemon. Sound fair?"

Ash blinked. He honestly hadn't even thought of borrowing TMs like that, though what Leaf said made sense. While they were rivals, they were also friends. It seemed like a fair trade to him, and it wasn't like they were trading TMs. It was just a quick swap so their Pokemon could learn a new move.

"Alright. Just hold on a second," Ash pulled out his Pokedex and went through his team members to figure out if any of them could put one of Leaf's moves to good use.

The obvious choice was Pyro, because he could learn both Incinerate and Solar Beam. Ash was really tempted to give him access to the incredibly powerful grass type move. It would give him a distinct advantage against water, ground, and rock types, all three of which would normally be too much for him to handle. The only problem was that Solar Beam took time to master, even if was learnt through a TM, and it also required a significant amount of time to charge up.

Maybe he would teach Pyro Solar Beam some other way at a later point in the future. For now, it wasn't a great option. Pyro didn't need Incinerate, either. His Flamethrower attack was plenty to work with.

That only left him with Sobek seeing as the others couldn't learn either of Leaf's TM moves. He and Pyro were the sole two capable of doing so. Ash realized that Sobek could actually learn Incinerate, and that had him thinking because the croc really needed a good long range move. Incinerate wasn't the most powerful fire type move in the world, but it would give Sobek a chance to blast enemies at a distance that he couldn't snag with Fire Fang.

Ash made up his mind pretty quickly. "Can I use the Incinerate TM? I'm going to teach it to Sobek."

Leaf smiled and nodded. "Sure! Here, let's trade TMs for a moment."

They each pulled out their TM cases and extracted the necessary discs from the storage units before passing them to the other. Once that was done, the two trainers installed the TMs and applied the moves to their Pokemon. It only took a few minutes, between exchanging the discs, using them, and then returning the TMs to their rightful owners.

"We can have them practice their new moves later," Leaf told him as she returned her Incinerate TM to her case. "Let's keep going! Fuchsia City isn't far away now."

Ash couldn't have agreed more. After spending nearly three weeks on the road, all he wanted was to see civilization again, sleep in a _real_ bed, and eat lots of food. He loved traveling in the wilderness, but there was nothing like the a good night's sleep and a hot meal. A Pokemon Center sounded like absolute paradise as far as he was concerned.

* * *

Sixteen days after leaving Celadon City, Ash and Leaf finally made it to Fuchsia. It was late in the afternoon and the city's lights had just turned on, illuminating the dark sky. They hurried down the remainder of the road to reach it as quickly as possible.

Leaf jumped from excitement once they walked pass the "Welcome to Fuchsia City" sign hanging over the entrance to the town. "We're finally here! Thank goodness!"

"Great. Now let's find the Pokemon Center so I can eat real food and slip into something more comfortable," Ash groaned tiredly. "Like a coma."

She laughed and rubbed her eyes slightly. "I'm not going to argue against that. I'm just as exhausted."

"You seek the Pokemon Center?"

Ash jumped and Leaf squeaked as a stranger's voice came from behind them. They both spun around to find a girl standing there in what appeared to be a ninja outfit. She was smirking at them with amusement, but there was a curious glint in her eyes.

"You are both trainers, are you not?" She asked, not bothering to wait for them to answer her first question.

Leaf finally answered. "Y-yes. And yes, we're looking for the Pokemon Center. Um…who are you?"

The girl, who couldn't have been much older than them, dipped her head. "Janine is my name. I am a trainer like yourselves. If you like, I could escort you to the Pokemon Center. I am meeting a friend there tonight."

"That would be great," Ash latched onto the offer quickly. He was too tired to waste time searching for the building without the foggiest idea as to where it was. If someone was willing to lead them there, he would jump at the chance.

Janine smiled. "Good. Let us go, then."

* * *

The trio reached the Pokemon Center after a short walk. Janine walked them inside and, after dropping off all of Ash and Leaf's Pokemon with Nurse Joy, getting them each their own rooms, and leaving most of their baggage in said rooms, brought them to the cafeteria. Ash literally felt his mouth begin to water as he saw the food available to them.

"Thank you so much," Leaf told their guide once they were inside the cafeteria.

"It is not an issue. Trainers must help one another, yes?" Janine replied as she filled up her plate. "One grows stronger through cooperation with others. That is a lesson my father has ingrained into me over our many training sessions in my time as a trainer. If I may ask, what brings you to Fuchsia City?"

"We want to challenge Koga," Ash explained to her. "But I'm probably going to enter the Safari Zone while I'm here as well. I really want to try and capture one or two new Pokemon."

Leaf nodded in agreement. "I'm not going into the Safari Zone quite yet, but I would like to head towards the beaches after I battle Koga here. I really need to get a water type for my team."

"It sounds like you both have well laid-out plans," Janine remarked. "That is good. You will need plans if you're to have a chance at defeating Koga. He is not a foe one can simply conquer with brute force."

She paused for a moment and smiled at someone behind them. "Ah, there is my friend. It seems she beat me here."

Ash turned to see who Janine was looking at, but his jaw dropped when he recognized the girl sitting at a booth immediately. "Misty?!"

Misty- the shock of orange hair could only belong to Misty- blinked in surprise when she took in the three trainers. "Ash? Is that you? And Leaf!"

"Misty!" Leaf squealed. "Oh my gosh, I didn't know you were going to be here!"

Janine seemed only somewhat surprised. "Oh? You three are already acquainted?"

"Yeah. I ran into Misty at Mt. Moon," Ash explained. "Then we had a battle in Cerulean City. I got a Cascade Badge from her."

Misty smiled as the three trainers joined her at the table. Janine took the spot beside her, while Ash and Leaf sat down across from them. "You put up a good fight, I'll give you that. Both of you did. Speaking of, how's your Ivysaur doing, Leaf?"

"He's probably going to evolve soon," Leaf said happily. "Saur's gotten way stronger since Cerulean City."

"I don't doubt it," Misty grinned. "I might have to have another battle with you and Ash while I'm here."

Ash swallowed a bite of food and looked at her curiously. "What are you doing in Fuchsia, anyway?"

"I'm actually just staying here for a week," Misty explained. "There's a special migration going on in the ocean just south of the city and I really want to try and capture a new Pokemon."

Leaf's eyes lit up. "A water type? What kind?"

"Clamperl. They're native to the Hoenn region, but during the summer they head up here across the seafloor to find colder waters," Misty informed her. "Ideally, I'd like to capture a pair of them. They have the potential to evolve into two different forms."

"Can I go with you?" Leaf asked immediately. "I was going to try and capture a water type down by the ocean here anyways. Please?"

The water type Gym Leader smiled brightly. "Absolutely!"

With that settled, Ash glanced at Janine. "So how do you know Misty?"

Janine grinned. "We've met at Gym Leader conferences before. I am not a Gym Leader yet, but I intend to take my father's place here once he becomes part of the Elite Four."

That went over both Ash and Leaf's heads until Misty cast them both a smirk. "I'm guessing she didn't tell you. Janine is Koga's daughter and a Gym Leader in-training. In addition to capturing a Clamperl, I came down here to train with her since our strengths are about equal."

Ash stared at the young ninja with surprise. "Wait, what?"

Janine's smile grew larger. "You heard Misty correctly. I specialize in poison types just like my father, though I am nowhere near as skilled as he is yet."

"That sounds so cool, being the daughter of a Gym Leader!" Leaf exclaimed. "I bet you got to start working with Pokemon at a really young age, huh?"

"Yes. I received my first Pokemon, a Spinarak, on my seventh birthday. She is my most skilled fighter now, though my father's main team easily outclasses us."

Ash suddenly had an idea go through him. "Janine, I'd like to battle you."

Her eyes flashed for a moment. "Is that so?"

"Yeah," he continued. "It sounds like you've got a similar fighting style to Koga's. I think battling you might give me a good idea about how to defeat him. But I'd also like to see what a Gym Leader in-training can do when they aren't holding back."

Janine got a dangerous smile on her face. "Be careful what you wish for, Ash. You just might get it."

"I intend to," he grinned right back. Ash could feel his blood beginning to boil-

"Not tonight, you two," Misty interrupted them. "It's already late and I'm sure Nurse Joy doesn't want to see Ash's Pokemon again so soon after she healed them. Wait until morning."

They conceded the point. Ash really wanted to see what Janine could do, but he also really wanted to sleep. However, right now, he'd enjoy the Pokemon Center's food and the conversation going on between the three female trainers. They certainly liked to talk, but that was fine with him. It was nice to listen to, even if he interjected only a few times.

It was a good kind of chatter.

* * *

Ash was awoken by a few licks to his hand. He opened his eyes blearily to find Eevee attempting to get him up, licking at his hand a few times before looking to see if he was awake yet. When she saw his eyes open, Eevee made a small chirp and glanced at the door. He assumed someone was waiting for him rather patiently because Eevee would be giving both him and the door a death glare if anyone knocked on the door persistently.

He got up and scratched the normal type's fur along her ears. "Thanks, girl."

Eevee chittered quietly and turned round a few times before settling back down on the bed. Ash smiled at the sight, glad to see that she was so comfortable. He made his way to the door and opened it as quietly as he could, knowing that the only reason the rest of his team hadn't woken up yet was because they were dead tired. Eevee just happened to have the sharpest ears out of them all.

Though it also might have had something to do with the fact that Pyro snored quite loudly.

Misty was waiting on the other side. "Morning, sleepyhead. You going to sleep all day?"

Ash shrugged and opened the door a bit more so that Misty could look into the room. "Sorry. We're all kind of dead to the world right now."

She grinned at the sight of Ash's team sprawled all over the room. "I can see that. Can I come in?"

He nodded and moved aside so that the girl could step inside his room. Ash was just glad that it was the Pokemon Center's room and not his actual room back home. That place looked, as his mother so eloquently put it, like the apocalypse itself bunked with Ash. Fortunately, he hadn't been in this room long enough to make a mess exceeding the rather sloppy spread of his team lying all over the floor.

Misty looked at Pyro and smirked when the Charmeleon growled in his sleep. "He looks good. Do you think he'll evolve soon?"

"There's no telling," Ash shrugged. "He's getting stronger for sure, but I don't think he's ready to evolve yet. Maybe in another month or two. Sobek will probably evolve before him, though."

"Sobek's the Krokorok, isn't he?" Misty queried, keeping her voice down as she observed the slumbering ground type. Ash could see the fresh set of fangs in Sobek's jaws gleaming and realized suddenly how much they contrasted against his scales. They had been a sandy color when he first evolved, but they'd gradually darkened to the point that his pearly whites seemed to glow against them.

"Yeah," he answered Misty's question. "He might actually evolve pretty soon. His scales have gotten a lot darker recently."

She nodded. "Sounds promising. By the way, where's Pikachu?"

Ash froze at the mention of the electric type. Misty blinked at his sudden stiffness and asked all too innocently. "Is something wrong?"

"…Pikachu got pretty badly hurt a few weeks ago," Ash mumbled. "He's being rehabilitated in Vermillion City right now with Lt. Surge."

The blood drained from Misty's face and her smile vanished instantly. _"What?_ What happened?!"

He shook his head. "I really don't want to talk about it. Ask Erika or Surge."

Her mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water, but she eventually recovered herself. "Is he going to be okay?"

"It'll be a few months at least, but…Surge seems to think he'll recover."

Misty sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. I'm so sorry that happened, Ash. But he'll get better, right?"

Ash just nodded and sat down on the edge of his bed, where Eevee scooted closer to him and nuzzled under his arm. He was grateful for the simple comfort. Reminders of Pikachu's injury made him feel tired, like all the energy was drained from his body to the point that he really didn't want to do anything. Ash had a feeling that if his team wasn't there to support him, he probably would have gone home after the events that transpired at Celadon.

It wasn't something he was going to recover from easily.

He hadn't spoken to his mother or Professor Oak since before the Rocket incident, but frankly he wasn't ready for that confrontation either. No doubt Gary had informed his grandfather about the whole thing, but Ash dared not imagine the fury his mother would be in once she found out. Their decision to attack hardened criminals had easily been the most idiotic thing they'd ever done in their lives.

"Hey," Ash blinked as Misty got his attention. She offered a smile. "Go get yourself ready for the day. We'll be waiting in the cafeteria."

Ash nodded again as Misty left, closing the door behind her before he gathered himself with a deep breath and made to prepare himself for the challenges of the day.

* * *

He met up with Leaf, Misty, and Janine in the cafeteria a short time later. It wasn't like he took long to get ready in the mornings anyways.

Leaf waved at him as he approached the same table they'd sat at the night before. "Hey there, Ash! Wow, you slept longer than a Snorlax!"

Ash grunted and bolted down to breakfast, too hungry to immediately offer a witty retort. The girls chatted while he ate, and once he was done, Janine glanced at him with a challenging look.

"So, you still wish to challenge me?"

Any negative feelings from the reminder of Pikachu's injuries vanished. Ash returned the challenge with a grin. "Is that even a question?"

"Completely rhetorical," Janine smirked. "Come then, I would like to show you to the Fuchsia Gym. We will do battle in the training area there."

"Well, you guys can have fun with that," Misty broke into their conversation. "Leaf and I are going to head to the coast on the south side of the city. There's a strip of beach there with a pretty steep drop-off. We might be able to fish for Clamperl there."

Leaf nodded. "I really want to try and capture a water type before I challenge Koga, anyways. How about you try battling him today, Ash? I'll fight him later."

"Sounds like a plan," Ash replied.

* * *

Fuchsia Gym was a lot more traditional looking and somewhat smaller than the other Gyms Ash had been to before. It was an older building, with sliding doors and wood flooring at the entrance. An attendant in a kimono was waiting for them, and she bowed when Janine led him inside.

"Welcome back, Miss Janine. Do you bring a challenger with you?"

"Of a sort," she admitted. "I will be engaging the young man in battle at the training field. Perhaps later, he will face father."

"I see," the attendant bowed again. "Come then, I shall lead you to the training field."

She turned and walked away, encouraging them to follow her. Ash had expected the pace to be slow because of the traditional kimono, but the attendant was surprisingly quick in it. He guessed that she was probably used to wearing such things around here.

The training field was behind a few sliding doors, and surprisingly large for how small the Gym appeared to be on the outside. Ash took a look around and saw that the whole field was surrounded by the traditional wooden walls and windows, but frowned when he realized there was a lack of damage, as if no one ever battled here.

Janine must have noticed his confusion because she smiled. "You wonder how the room appeared to be undamaged. I suggest you try touching the walls."

Ash did as she instructed, but found that he couldn't touch them. There was a thin, invisible surface about an inch thick no matter where he tried to touch the wall. He glanced at Janine in confusion. "Is that glass?"

She shook her head. "No, it's a psychic barrier created by one of our Pokemon. Appear!"

At her command, a corner of the room that appeared empty was suddenly given the form of a box, which faded away and revealed a stranger, white and red humanoid Pokemon. It had large hands, big ears, and almost shoe-like appendages on its feet. Ash had never seen one before.

"This is our Mr. Mime," Janine explained. "He is a psychic type Pokemon that specializes in creating barriers. With his skills, our building rarely has to undergo repairs as a result of battles. Don't misunderstand though, for he is every bit as efficient a battler as my father's Pokemon."

Ash watched in fascination as Mr. Mime bowed to them, seemingly bashful of Janine's praise. He had no idea what a psychic type was doing in a poison type Gym, but then again, it wasn't like they weren't allowed to have different types of Pokemon. Ash was willing to bet that Koga used Mr. Mime to help train his poison types, so that they could grow used to fighting at a disadvantage.

"Now then, let us begin our battle."

He turned and blinked when Janine was suddenly on the other side of the field. Apparently, her ninja appearance wasn't just for show.

Janine smiled confidently at Ash from across the field. "What shall the rules be?"

"Let's have a two on two match," Ash decided, taking a pokeball off of his belt.

"Very well. You may go first."

Ash grinned and tapped the release, setting Eevee loose. She blinked once she registered where she was and glanced at her trainer. "Ready for a battle, Eevee?"

Eevee's tail twitched somewhat, but she didn't refuse him and nodded shortly before facing Janine. Ash's grin widened. She wasn't reluctant to fight at all, which in his books was a huge step forward.

Janine eyed Eevee with interest before pulling her own pokeball out. "This is one I recently captured in the Safari Zone. I would like to test his skills today. Go!"

The creature she released was a Venonat, a small, round bug with a fluffy body and big red eyes that were actually clusters of many small eyes. Two antennae sat atop its head and a pair of small fangs were all that was visible of its mouth.

Ash eyed the creature and was unimpressed, but he knew better than to underestimate his opponent- especially if she was a Gym Leader in-training.

The attendant held her hand out. "Begin!"

"Swift!" Ash commanded immediately. "Keep it on its toes and try to flank it."

Eevee fired off a series of small stars at his order, honing in on Venonat's position before bolting to the left in a wide circle. The insect awaited its trainer's orders loyally, not moving until Janine told it to do so.

"Confusion! Send them back!"

Venonat's red eyes glowed a bright blue for a moment, then the Swift attack was halted in the face of its psychic abilities. Before Ash could blink, it had launched the normal type move back at Eevee, who seemed surprised to find the stars heading her way.

"Intercept it with Swift!" Ash ordered. He wanted to see what else Venonat could do before he really let Eevee have a go at it. Using her greater speed to dart around the slow insect and launch assault after assault would hopefully draw out more of its moves so that Ash could figure out how to handle it.

Eevee launched more of the stars, destroying her first Swift attack with her second. Venonat's eyes faded back to red as it lost control of the destroyed Swift and patiently waited for Janine's next order.

She seemed to be judging Eevee as much as Ash was judging Venonat. He figured she was likely trying to do the same as him- draw out Eevee's techniques. "Psybeam."

"Dodge!" He shouted even as Venonat built up a psychic wave between its antennae before firing the small beam at Eevee. She dodged it with ease, not even slipping into a Quick Attack to avoid the move. Ash's suspicion about her attempt to draw out Eevee's moves was looking accurate, so he decided to humor her a bit.

Bait the trap, so to speak.

"Get in close with Quick Attack," he began. "Then use Swift."

Eevee turned into a blur of brown fur as she slipped into the accelerating move. Janine, however, didn't seem too daunted by Eevee's speed. "Stun Spore."

Now it was Ash's turn for his eyes to widen. "Get back! Back away from it!"

She just barely managed to heed his command and skid to a stop when Venonat shook its body and a cloud of yellow, dust-like scales scattered around it. Eevee lunged back to Ash's side of the field and glared at the insect warily, her fur somewhat ruffled. Ash chewed his lip thoughtfully. Venonat wasn't incredibly strong, but it was good at countering long-range moves and had a method to prevent opponents from getting too close without consequences.

A tricky adversary indeed. It looked more like Janine had baited him rather than the other way around.

Fortunately, Ash didn't have to run through too many options before he came up with a solution. "Eevee, use Quick Attack to get in close, then use Shadow Ball."

Eevee gave him an uncertain look, but Ash nodded at her. "Trust me."

Her tail twitched. She glanced back at Venonat and for a moment Ash wasn't sure if she would heed his order, but then she crouched and lunged, even faster than her first attack.

Janine seemed surprised that he was willing to get close to Venonat after seeing it use Stun Spore and narrowed her eyes. "A little extra speed isn't going to help you. Poison Powder!"

This time, the scales Venonat scattered were violet colored, but Eevee didn't stop and charged right through the cloud. Despite breathing some of the toxins in, she charged a Shadow Ball within a few feet of the insect and got at point-blank range, much to Venonat's surprise. It obviously hadn't expected Eevee to dive into its poison.

Ash always held sympathy for any creature unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of one of Eevee's Shadow Balls, and Venonat was no different. The insect actually squealed as it was launched into Mr. Mime's barrier on Janine's side of the field, having been sent flying clean past its trainer. It looked utterly stunned from the vicious move and Ash couldn't blame it for that. Those Shadow Balls seriously hurt.

Eevee was panting and wincing from the poison, but Ash knew how to fix that problem. "Refresh!"

Janine's eyes widened. "Venonat, Disable! Quickly!"

Venonat managed to struggle to its feet, but cringed from pain. Ash could see that it hadn't trained much before because it was clearly unprepared for the damage of a direct attack. Any of his Pokemon would have shrugged it off by now and flown back into combat.

Eevee's body glowed a steady, pale yellow as she focused on the restoring technique and cured her body of poison within a matter of seconds. Ash hadn't really had the chance to have her practice Refresh, but he was glad that she could use it well enough. At least Venonat hadn't tried something like Sleep Powder- that would _not_ have been a good way to test his idea.

Janine appeared frustrated when the glow from Eevee's body faded and the normal type shook herself, now healed of poison. She turned back to Venonat and commanded sharply. "Signal Beam!"

A multicolored beam of energy was suddenly launched from Venonat's antennae, far bigger than the Psybeam attack and obviously more powerful. Eevee easily dodged it and began to run, keeping the insect and its trainer guessing as to what her next move would be.

"Zen Headbutt!" Janine ordered. "Use Toxic when it's stunned!"

Ash watched as Venonat charged psychic energy upon the top of its round body, then began to run at Eevee with a considerably slow pace. It wasn't getting anywhere fast, and he thought for a moment that maybe Janine was losing her patience. She clearly wasn't used to fighting with Venonat.

"Wait until it gets closer," he told Eevee.

Her ears twitched in acknowledgement as she prowled back and forth from right to left as Venonat drew closer. Once it was within about five meters of her, Ash snapped. "Shadow Ball!"

Venonat squealed again as its psychic type move was disrupted and its small body blown away by the force of another Shadow Ball. Ash didn't stop there though, and gave yet another order. "Quick Tail!"

Quick Tail was a very simple combination move he had come up with while training with Eevee- essentially, it was an Iron Tail attack backed by the enhanced speed of Quick Attack. It wasn't the most inventive of names or techniques, but it did the job and Eevee knew what to do when he gave the command.

She lunged at Venonat with that ever impressive speed, tail glowing silver as she got close. Venonat was only just pulling itself together from the Shadow Ball attack and trying to comprehend Janine shouting orders when it got a face-full of Iron Tail.

Eevee crushed the insect's soft body into the ground beneath her as she targeted the top of its head, right between the antennae. Janine winced as Venonat fell over, obviously unconscious, and recalled the small bug with a slight sigh.

Ash grinned widely. "Good girl, Eevee!"

Eevee padded back over to him and sat down in front of her trainer, tail twitching excitedly. Ash knelt down to scratch the soft fur behind her ears, praising the normal type for a good battle. Come to think of it, he realized, their first true battle as a Pokemon and trainer. She'd performed as well as he'd hoped she would.

Janine put away Venonat's pokeball as she looked back up at Ash. "Well, I cannot say I am surprised. Venonat and I have yet to truly begin our training together. He has much to learn. Your Eevee has talent and skill- I am impressed by its power."

"Thank you. She's more than earned it," Ash replied, causing Eevee to puff up her furry chest.

Janine pulled out a second pokeball and gave Ash a steady look that betrayed none of the earlier frustration she had showed during her battle with Venonat. "I will use one of my more battle-tested partners for this next round. You will find no easy victory against her."

Ash believed the confidence in her voice and looked at Eevee. "What do you say, girl? One more round? Or do you want to take a break?"

Eevee looked back at Janine and seemed to consider it for a moment. She finally padded over to sit down beside Ash, looking up at him to make sure he understood her.

He scratched her ears and nodded. "Alright, then. Take a break, Eevee. You did a great job."

She yipped and settled down to start grooming herself while Ash grabbed Sobek's pokeball. If Janine said she was taking the kiddie gloves off, then he would take her seriously as well.

Her second Pokemon was an Arbok. It was small for its species, slightly more slender, though perhaps average in length, but that didn't make it any less menacing. The serpent flared its hood for a moment and hissed at Ash, though he was unperturbed as he unleashed Sobek.

The croc took one look at Arbok and snarled aggressively, snapping his teeth to show off how dangerous he really was. His opponent hissed again, still flaring its hood in order to be as intimidating as possible. Sobek wasn't buying any of it.

He knew he was scarier.

"Coil," Janine began. Her voice had become much calmer- not lax, but focused. Ash could see she was used to battling with Arbok because Janine looked and sounded utterly confident in her abilities this time. Arbok as well responded to her more smoothly than Venonat had, curling up in a tight bundle of scaly limbs in order to focus its energy and musculature.

Ash wasn't about to let it build itself up too much. "Stone Edge."

Sobek punched at the ground and Ash watched with satisfaction as spires of stone erupted from the dirt, drawing closer to the poison type. However, he got a jolt of surprise as the spire meant to hit Arbok was blown clean in half by a silver tail. He frowned. Arbok had built itself up with Coil faster than he had anticipated, if that Iron Tail's strength said anything.

"Incinerate," he ordered.

Sobek spat a gout of flame at Arbok, who easily evaded by slithering to the side with blurring speed. Janine gave Arbok a new command as quickly as Ash did. "Screech."

Ash threw his hands over his ears as Arbok let out an ear-splitting shriek and Sobek roared with fury, trying to drown out the awful sound with his own. He had no idea if Sobek could hear him or not while Arbok made that god-forsaken noise, but he yelled as loudly as he could. "Earthquake!"

Arbok's shrieking cry was cut off by a surprised hiss as Sobek slammed his foot on the ground as hard as he could, triggering a weak Earthquake that was just enough to make the snake cease its sound attack. Janine, however, was not going to simply let that be.

"Acid Spray," Janine ordered methodically.

"Incinerate," Ash countered.

Arbok reared its head back and unleashed a noxious spray of emerald liquid from its jaws, but Sobek met the attack with his fire type move and burnt it away. Ash wrinkled his nose at the smell of burning acid, but Janine seemed accustomed to it- that or she just didn't care.

She seemed completely unfazed by the failure of Arbok's attack and continued. "Ice Fang."

Arbok bared its fangs, revealing them to be glowing a cold, icy blue moments before it lunged at Sobek with incredibly speed. Ash was struck by how quick it was. It was as if the fight had been switched around from the last one. Now his Pokemon was slow and her Pokemon was lightning quick.

"Stone Edge!"

Sobek punched at the ground again, trying to catch Arbok by making its own rush carry it onto his attack, but the snake curled around the stone as if it weren't even there and managed to sink its teeth into Sobek's arm. The croc roared in pain as the powerful fangs and biting cold did real damage to him- Sobek was by no means Ash's most defensive fighter. He couldn't let Arbok keep doing that or else the croc would be knocked out quickly.

"Crunch!" Ash snapped.

Sobek's teeth gnashed into Arbok's neck with a vengeance, causing the snake to shriek in pain and release its grip. However, Janine was not so easily distracted and took advantage of the close range her Pokemon was in immediately. "Iron Tail."

Ash winced as Arbok's metallic tail slammed into Sobek's gut. The croc's jaws were wrenched from his opponent's body as the force of the impact sent him flying away. Sobek hit the ground roughly with a low groan. He was getting tired fast and Ash was getting worried. Arbok was no joke.

The serpent slithered back to its master and coiled up, eyes locked onto its opponent as Sobek dragged himself to his feet. He leered at Arbok with pure fury, not keen on the idea of this adversary besting him so easily. Ash took the time that his Pokemon spent glaring at Janine's and utilized it to think as best he could.

Janine's strategy seemed to focus on building her Pokemon up and weakening her opponent with Arbok's quick strikes, adapting as the situation demanded to always have a way of hurting the enemy. Arbok weren't known for their durability, but who needed it when you were that fast? Ash remembered how fast Ariana's Arbok was, but it didn't hold a candle to Janine's for sheer speed. Maybe it lacked raw power, but that could be made up for if the opponent was weakened first and Arbok's power increased.

Ash decided it was time that they fell into their own familiar strategy.

"Ant Lion," he ordered.

Sobek dug underground instantly and it was just a few seconds later that the field developed a depression which quickly became a pit of sand. Arbok flicked its tongue at the disturbed earth and hissed uneasily, slithering along the edge of the Sand Tomb. Janine kept her eyes sharp, looking for any hint of Sobek's whereabouts.

He waited patiently. Sobek was the hunter here. Ash was simply the eyes aboveground. If the croc was aiming for something in particular, then he would wait patiently for the opportunity to arise.

Arbok suddenly paused, and then the ground erupted from behind its body and sharp teeth snapped into its midsection. The snake hissed furiously and spun to bite Sobek in response, but the croc used his powerful jaws to lift his prey and then leapt into the sand pit. He was dragging Arbok into the place where he would be at his most dangerous and efficient.

Sobek did get a second freezing bite from Arbok's Ice Fang for his trouble, but once the snake was in the pit, he let Arbok go and dug back underground. The serpent tried to slither out, but every time he moved, the sand slid away from beneath him and made his escape impossible. No matter how fast he was, the sand just gave way and kept him from going anywhere. Janine's eyes were wide. She clearly hadn't seen a strategy like this before, but then, it wasn't very likely that she'd fought a Krokorok before either. That was just good luck on Ash's part.

And no one ever said luck wasn't a part of winning sometimes.

He didn't need to order Sobek around at this point. Arbok was trapped and even though it could still deliver a nasty bite, Sobek was in his battle zone. He could burrow along the sand pit as easily as a Feraligatr could cut through water. Arbok was the helpless prey now, no matter what tricks Janine had.

Sobek delivered a Fire Fang to the serpent's underbelly, then retreated back underground before Arbok could counter. He snapped at the tail end next with Thunder Fang, and then the flanks, patiently weakening the poison type until it just lay low and hissed furiously. The final straw was when Arbok lowered its head too much and Sobek erupted at the front end to snap his fangs into its neck, just behind the skull. Arbok flailed desperately, but Sobek had apparently decided that he was ready to finish this fight and didn't let go until Janine recalled her Pokemon.

Ash would willingly say that if Sobek didn't have such an incredibly useful tool as Ant Lion, that they would have been hard-pressed to win that fight at all. Arbok was ridiculously fast and had a more varied move pool than he had anticipated. It probably had no problem wiping out Pokemon that couldn't escape underground, and even those probably had their work cut out for them.

Janine, for her part, looked dumbfounded. "I…I concede."

Sobek roared his victory and looked back at Ash for approval, grinning toothily when his trainer smiled and nodded. "Atta boy, Sobek."

He glanced at Janine as she walked over. "Sorry about that. There was no other way Sobek and I could have taken Arbok down. It was so fast."

She smiled ruefully. "I did not expect such a strategy. Your partner here is very skilled. If I may ask, exactly what is he? I've never seen anything like him."

"Sobek?" Ash watched as the croc walked over and pushed his snout into the boy's arm. He chuckled and scratched Sobek under his chin, right where he liked it. While Sobek let out a light growl of enjoyment, Ash answered Janine's question. "He's a Krokorok. They're native to the Unova Region, and he's one of my strongest fighters."

Sobek snapped his jaws as if to prove this and offered Janine a challenging expression. Ash could see the red tint to his usually dark eyes and knew that his Moxie was acting up after defeating Arbok, so he recalled the ground type before he could decide if biting someone was worth it.

Janine didn't seem upset by her loss and she was quickly getting over her surprise. "Well, I'd like to engage you and Sobek in battle again one day when I've trained more. I imagine he will be an even more worthy adversary the next time around."

"He's actually getting pretty close to evolution," Ash informed her with a widening grin. "So next time, you'll really have to watch out."

Her eyes flashed eagerly. "I look forward to it."

"My lady?" The attendant suddenly came forward with a PokeNav. "Your father has just sent a message for you."

She handed Janinethe device and the girl looked at the screen for several moments before frowning deeply. "This is unexpected."

"What's up?"

She glanced at Ash. "My father has been called in for League business. It is unlikely he will be available for a gym battle today."

He frowned at the news. Ash had been hoping to have a go at Koga as soon as he wrapped up his battle with Janine, but it seemed as though that would not be the case. Regardless, he had the whole day ahead of him and there were plenty of things he could be doing.

"How about we go to the Safari Zone?" Janine suggested. "I enjoy being out in the wild. I also seem to recall that you wanted to go there, yes?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to try and capture a new Pokemon or two. My team could use a little more variety."

"Well, then that's settled!" She exclaimed. "We can leave most of our Pokemon here, if you wish. The Safari Zone only lets you bring one Pokemon in with you, and that's only for self-defense. You aren't allowed to attack the wild Pokemon there."

"How do you capture them, then?" Ash asked incredulously, recalling that some of the species there were particularly rare and powerful. "You can't just throw ball after ball until something sticks, can you?"

Janine smiled widely. "Why Ash, that's _exactly_ what you do."

* * *

The Safari Zone was just a short walk north of the city. A huge fence blocked the forest from the rest of civilization, with only a small building acting as a way in and out of the Safari Zone. Ash was silently impressed by how easily the manmade constructs blended with the surrounding nature. He had a feeling it had been designed specifically for that purpose so that the Pokemon residing in the area would be more comfortable.

Some of the species in this place were incredibly rare or even critically endangered. Kangaskhan, for example, had been hunted to the point that they were extinct in the wild. The only populations left of them were those in places like the Safari Zone that were maintained by the League. The hope was that they could be bred in captivity until the population was healthy enough to start releasing them back into their natural habitat in the wild.

He had brought Eevee with him because she didn't want to go back into her Luxury Ball quite yet. Meanwhile, the rest of his team and Janine's, (with the exception of her Ariados) would be kept safely at the Fuchsia Gym. There wasn't much point in bringing them seeing as they wouldn't be allowed into the Safari Zone anyways.

Ash let his eyes drift for what felt like the fifteenth time to the Ariados clinging to Janine's back. He honestly didn't know whether he should find it interesting or creepy, but whatever he thought, the spider was evidently quite comfortable int he position and Janine hardly seemed to notice its weight.

Pikachu riding shotgun was one thing, but having a big spider latched to your back wasn't high on Ash's bucket list.

Janine led them inside the building that connected the Safari Zone to the outside world. Inside the building was a desk with a ranger whom would allow them to enter the preserve once they paid, but Ash focused first on the opposite wall, where a map of the Safari Zone was laid out. On the map was an explanation of the various environments and the Pokemon species that could be found there.

He was impressed by the variety- jungle, plains, mountains, desert, lakes…In fact, pretty much everything barring ocean and tundra environments had been replicated in the Safari Zone.

"See anything you wish to attempt catching?" Janine asked him as Ash scanned the various species.

"Well…I was thinking about getting a Scyther earlier," Ash jabbed his finger at the jungle sector, right next to the lake. A picture of the massive insect only made him want one even more- the tough green hide and large, sickle-shaped claws were practically irresistible.

Janine nodded. "A good choice. I will be going to the plains- the Nidoran herds are out there, and I have thought about getting a training partner to raise alongside Venonat."

"Then we'll meet back here after our time is up," Ash agreed.

They went over to the desk where the ranger in charge gave them the rundown of rules- only one Pokemon was to be allowed with any trainer for self-defense, no pokeballs could be brought in that were not Safari Balls, and they had exactly six hours before they would be required to come back in- successful or not.

The ranger handed both Ash and Janine thirty Safari Balls and some bait. He mentioned that they could throw rocks as well, but didn't advise it. Many creatures got rather angry if someone threw a rock at them. Once they had been given the all-clear, Ash and Janine entered the Safari Zone.

"The plains where I am headed are in the east," Janine explained as she pointed to the right. "You will find the jungles in the west. I think you may want to stick along the edge of the lake. A lot of Pokemon will leave the forest to get a drink."

"Thanks," Ash smiled as he started walking with Eevee trailing beside him. "See you in a while."

"Good luck!" Janine called after him.

* * *

Ash couldn't remember the last time he'd been this muddy. It had to have been one of the times he and Gary played with the Poliwag at Professor Oak's lab.

He had been forced to trek through the marsh section of the Safari Zone in order to make it to the jungle, and it lived up to the name. Every step had put him nearly knee-deep in mud and he was exhausted by the time he got out of the swamp. The thought of trying to catch any of the Pokemon he'd seen there wasn't even on his mind because he was too focused on keeping himself from sinking into the mud.

Eevee had avoided getting her paws dirty entirely by hitching a ride on Ash's head and shoulders. She was _not_ going to get mud in her carefully-groomed fur. Under no circumstances would she tolerate such a thing. Her trainer kept himself less clean than she did, so he could get dirty for the both of them.

Besides, the view from on top of his head was much nicer than getting a face-full of mud.

After a whole hour of trekking through mud, Ash finally made it to the jungle section of the Safari Zone, where he collapsed and took several minutes to catch his breath and drink from the water bottle he'd brought along. It was unbearable hot and he really needed a break. The Scyther could wait a few more minutes.

Eevee leapt down once she was safely clear of mud and looked up at her trainer, only slightly concerned by his heavy breathing. Maybe he needed to start training, too. She was pretty sure he wouldn't last five minutes in the training sessions he came up with for her and the other members of the team.

When Ash caught his breath, they continued on towards the lake. Now that they weren't trying to make their way through knee-deep mud, the pair were able to admire the surroundings and the Pokemon residing in the jungle. Ash caught sight of several bug types including Paras, Venonat, and even the odd Venomoth. There were Exeggute and Tangela shuffling along the forest floor as well. Once he caught sight of two Pinsir fighting each other, but he wasn't crazy enough to get too close.

He didn't want to get cut in half by a pair of furious stag beetles.

But for the life of him, Ash saw no signs of a Scyther. The bug was proving to be as rare as its reputation made it up to be.

Ash and Eevee paused as a Caterpie crawled halfway across the small trail they were walking along, smirking slightly when the little insect noticed them and tried to hurry. It was amusing because a Caterpie trying to run was about as fast as a Caterpie on a casual stroll.

Eevee chittered softly as the bug disappeared into a bush and looked back up at Ash. He smiled down at her. "Not so scary, huh?"

She shook her head and Ash chuckled as they continued walking. It was nice walking with Eevee. She wasn't much of a chatterbox as some of Ash's other Pokemon, but the calm air between them was relaxing.

When they made it to the lake, Ash glanced around. There was about twenty feet between the edge of the trees and the lakeside itself, but that meant that whatever came out of the jungle would show itself easily. He couldn't see anything drinking right now, though with the sun at its peak, he had no doubt that there would be quite a few Pokemon coming to quench their thirst pretty soon.

He decided to stay just inside the tree line, where it was shady and cooler than out in the sun. Plus, he'd be mostly hidden from whatever came out to drink. So Ash found himself a spot where he could easily see the lake shore, settled down, and began to wait.

Eevee, on the other hand, wasn't in the mood to sit around. She was feeling hot in her luscious fur and needed a drink. She yipped at Ash to get his attention and glanced to the lake. He knew her well enough to know what she wanted and nodded. "Okay. I'll be right here. Don't get too far away, alright?"

She huffed. She would go wherever she so pleased. But maybe she would stay close like Ash suggested.

Eevee didn't want to walk too far in this unholy heat.

* * *

Eevee only walked a few minutes away from Ash, to a small, rocky spot where she had a bit of privacy. She liked being on her own now and again, simply to enjoy the quiet spell that fell upon her. While traveling with Ash was fun, she did need some time for herself, like any girl would.

Her male companions could drive her _crazy_ sometimes with their constant need for battles and masculine displays of power. At least Douse and Spectre weren't so insufferable as Pyro or Sobek, or even Pikachu before he'd been injured. Spectre was only annoying at worst, but Douse was easy to be around. The Poliwhirl liked to fight, but at least he didn't get into roaring matches like his Charmeleon or Krokorok companions.

Eevee had a distinct urge to blast that pair now and again with a Shadow Ball just to make them shut up.

They were lucky that Eevee was a patient creature.

She glanced around as she crouched by the lake. Once she was certain that she was alone, Eevee dipped her head and began to lap at the water. She was in no rush, even with the sun blazing overhead. The heat simply made her even more thirsty, so she would continue to drink. For a few moments, Eevee contemplated actually getting into the water, but she decided against it after a few moments. Her fur would dry quickly, but it would be ruffled and that meant she would have to groom it for at least an hour to make herself presentable.

A small splash of water and the patter of feet on rock got Eevee's attention, causing her to look up. She found a weird, pink creature staring at her with blank white eyes. The tiny pupils inside of the big eyes were fixed on nothing, giving the Pokemon a creepy expression. It walked on four, tiny legs, had a long pink and white tail, and had a goofy muzzle with small fangs.

Eevee had never seen anything so bizarre in her life. This creature was just staring at her, rather rudely in her opinion. It hadn't even tried to introduce itself and thought it was acceptable to stare at her as if she were an object?

Her eyes narrowed and she growled at the strange thing, telling it to go find a different Pokemon to stare at. Several seconds passed without even the slightest reaction from the creature, so she growled again, slightly louder this time. She didn't want to be so loud as to make Ash come running, but she wanted this _thing_ to go away.

It didn't so much as twitch and simply continued to stare. Eevee shifted uncomfortably. Was it even aware that she was in front of it? Or was it just too stupid to come up with a response? It certainly looked ridiculous. Should she run from it? It didn't seem threatening.

Eevee eventually decided to just ignore it. The creature was annoying her, but it wasn't a danger and it wasn't making a sound. She would finish her drink and go back to Ash. Hopefully, it wouldn't follow her.

She turned back to take a drink and at first didn't notice the small head that was floating right in front of her from beneath the surface of the water. Only when it made a small trilling sound did she jump, choking on the mouthful of water she'd taken and spitting it at whatever was in front of her by accident.

Oops.

Eevee felt her fur flush hotly with embarrassment as the creature in front of her blinked with a bewildered expression. It didn't look angry, just surprised.

She had no idea what to do until the new creature repeated its greeting trill. Eevee chittered a response, then licked the fur of her chest to smooth over her ruffled fur. Once her fur settled, she took a moment to inspect this new Pokemon that was decidedly more animated than the weird pink creature still staring from its spot on the rock beside her.

It was reptilian judging from the smooth scales covering its body. A large white nose and two spiky ears were the most prominent features at first glance, along with a small white bump between its two big, green eyes. The rest of the body (or at least, what she could see of it from above the water) was serpentine, with bright blue scales covering its top half and snowy white scales on its underbelly.

The Pokemon made its gentle trill again and Eevee's ears twitched. She liked the soft voice this creature made. It was much nicer than her roaring teammates, and that made Eevee think that maybe this one was a female like herself. This one also had pretty green eyes. Not as pretty as Eevee's chocolatey ones of course, but still very pretty.

Eevee decided she would call her Green Eyes.

Green Eyes had asked her what she was in a polite way. She hadn't seen anything like Eevee before. There were other small, furry Pokemon that came to the water now and again, but they were skittish and ran away at first glance. There were big furry Pokemon too, but they were easily annoyed and had big horns.

Eevee chittered that she was simply Eevee. It was who she was and she knew no other way to describe herself. Green Eyes seemed satisfied with that and then asked Eevee what she was doing here.

She replied that she was here with her human. He was looking for a big green bug with big claws. Green Eyes trilled that she saw them come by a few times a day, but they were always alone. Their claws were very sharp and they could be very jumpy. If anything else decided to come and drink, they would dart back into the trees.

Green Eyes paused then and asked Eevee what her human was like. She told Eevee that she saw humans now and again at the lake, but they had weird sticks with long strings and sharp objects at the ends. There was always tasty food on the sharp bit, but it hurt to bite. She didn't like those.

Eevee didn't have the foggiest idea what Green Eyes was talking about, but said that her human didn't have a weird, sharp stick and instead was just weird in general. He was young and brash, and he annoyed her a lot, but he was nice. He was good at brushing her fur and made her happy.

The humans she'd known at her hatching place had been mean and loud and threw her in a small cage with other Pokemon that would bite her in ways she didn't like. She had gotten tough fast and bit anything that touched her. At some point, a bunch of even louder humans in blue uniforms came and took her from the mean humans. They gave her food, but they still pissed her off, so she bit them as well.

Then one of the blue uniform humans came and gave her to Ash. She didn't like him much at first and he really annoyed her, but he was patient and let her do what she needed to make herself comfortable. He had other Pokemon that travelled with him and they weren't too bad. Noisy, but tolerable.

She didn't like a lot of noise. It reminded her of the cramped, dark space with the mean humans.

Green Eyes cooed that her human sounded much nicer than other humans. Eevee agreed with her. Ash was a lot nicer and she'd never met such a kind human before him.

Ash was a rare human.

They both jumped and turned when the strange pink Pokemon (which had been staring this entire time) suddenly made a low, slow groaning sound. Eevee blinked when she translated it as an incredibly slow greeting.

Had it seriously taken this thing the better part of ten minutes just to get that out?

Green Eyes made a laughing trill and told Eevee that these funny creatures did things very slowly, but they were harmless. She had staring contests with them sometimes, but they always beat her.

Eevee only had to take one look at the still unblinking eyes to believe it. There was no way that any Pokemon or human could defeat one of these things in a staring contest.

Green Eyes got her attention again by asking if it was fun to travel. Eevee considered the question for a moment before shrugging. It was fun to see different places. She didn't always like to walk, but whenever she got tired, her human put her in a comfy, black sphere that made it easy for her to sleep. That or she would hitch a ride on his shoulders, but that wasn't as comfortable.

She leaned down to lap at the water again. Her throat felt dry from all this talking, but Eevee had to admit that she liked Green Eyes. She had a quiet voice and was well-mannered, much more so than the rest of her teammates.

She shifted a little. She kind of wanted Green Eyes to stick around…

Eevee chittered to Green Eyes if she would like to come with her and her human. She had a feeling that Green Eyes would like to explore with them, and there were lots of interesting things to do. They travelled to many places and got stronger together. The workouts weren't always fun and her teammates could be annoying, but there were more good things than bad things.

Green Eyes went quiet for a few minutes and Eevee was afraid that she was asking too much. They _had_ just met after all, but Eevee hadn't gotten along with another Pokemon this much…well, ever. It was nice to have someone she could talk to a lot.

Another trill snapped Eevee out of her thoughts as Green Eyes said she wanted to meet Eevee's human first, then she would decide. She was getting bored of always swimming in the same lake and she wanted to see the outside world, but she wasn't going to just go off with a human unless she was sure he was good.

That was all Eevee had to hear for her to tell Green Eyes to wait a moment while she got her human. She ran off without a second thought, leaving the other two Pokemon behind. So Green Eyes remained with the slow pink creature, and decided to engage it in a staring contest while she waited.

Maybe she would win this time…

* * *

Ash heard Eevee yipping as she ran towards him and he half-expected something to be hot on her heels. He hadn't seen anything that he wanted to catch yet, and the most exciting thing thus far was Eevee running back to him with excitement. Her tail was wagging and frankly, he couldn't remember ever seeing her this excited.

"What's up, girl?"

Eevee yipped again and spun in a circle, trying to convince him to follow her. Ash blinked at the display, unsure what to make of her sudden, crazed behavior. She skittered away for a few feet and waited for him, but when all he did was stare, she narrowed her eyes and yipped a little more forcefully.

"You want me to follow you?" He asked hesitantly.

She gave him a deadpan look for several moments that made Ash start to feel pretty stupid. He nodded. "Okay, lead the way."

Eevee huffed and turned to lead her trainer to the lake. She was a patient creature, she reminded herself. This was just important.

* * *

They made it to the rocky spot where Eevee had taken her drink and, to her delight, she found that Green Eyes was still there, staring at the weird pink Pokemon that apparently had nothing better to do than stare right back. She ran over to get there before Ash, chittering to Green Eyes that her human was here.

Green Eyes immediately broke the staring contest and blinked a few times, trilling that her eyes hurt. The pink creature had beaten her again. Eevee sat down on the rock and turned to watch as Ash came over, yipping for his attention.

Ash wasn't sure what he was expecting when he came over to find out what had made Eevee so excited. He figured maybe she had seen some interesting fish Pokemon like a Seaking or maybe even a Gyarados. The Slowpoke plopped on the rocks beside her was also a possibility.

He did _not_ expect her to go and find a _Dratini_ of all things.

Ash had to stop and blink a few times to make sure he was looking at what he thought he was looking at. The small serpent in front of him had a large, white nose, two spiky ears of the same color, and two big, green eyes. Covering its body were smooth scales, the belly being white and the back a light blue.

He couldn't believe his eyes. He was looking at a Dratini.

It seemed a little nervous, but Eevee chittered to it quietly and it responded with a small trill. Eevee turned to give him a stern look and Ash was pretty sure she was silently telling him not to mess up.

Or else.

Ash made his way to the water and knelt down slowly, pulling out some of the food that the ranger had given him. "Hey, there…are you hungry, boy?"

Eevee nipped his arm for that one and Ash winced. "I mean…girl?"

Eevee nodded firmly. Honestly, how could Ash _possibly_ function without her? If he didn't have her around, he would be stuck with a bunch of boys that would never understand the delicacy of girls.

Ash was lucky to have her around.

The Dratini trilled in amusement at Eevee's attitude and considered the food in Ash's hand for a moment before relenting. She was feeling a bit hungry after her long conversation with Eevee, so she leaned forward out of the water and nibbled at the food. It was the same stuff that humans put on their sharp sticks, but it didn't hurt to eat.

She liked that. Eevee's human was gentle, just like she'd said.

Ash couldn't help but smile at the ticklish sensation he got as the Dratini ate out of his hand. She was a calm creature and he really liked how she seemed to get along with Eevee. He waited until she finished eating all of the food before slowly reaching out to scratch the small dragon behind her spiky white ears.

Eevee felt herself growing more excited as Green Eyes cooed adoringly at the contact. That apparently felt really good, and even she had to admit that Ash was talented when it came to finding the best spots to scratch.

The Dratini looked at Eevee and trilled happily. She liked Ash.

Eevee chittered to ask if Green Eyes wanted to come with them and the answering "yes" had her nearly jumping with excitement. She immediately went to Ash's belt and paused when she didn't find any of the pokeballs he usually kept there. Her eyes narrowed and she pawed at his belt. How could he forget one of the red and white spheres at a moment like this?

Ash chuckled as Eevee gave him a scathing look for his forgetfulness. "It's okay, Eevee! I've got plenty."

He pulled his bag off of his shoulder and extracted a Safari Ball from inside of it. He looked at Dratini while he held the device out. "Do you want to come with us?"

Green Eyes nodded and Ash gently tapped the button of the Safari Ball to the dragon's nose. He laughed when her already big green eyes got even wider with surprise, then she vanished in a flash of red light. The Safari Ball wriggled in his hand for several moments, then stilled.

Eevee actually squealed then and insisted on thrusting her nose in front of the Safari Ball containing her newfound friend to catch Green Eyes' scent. Ash laughed at the excited normal type and petted the fur along her back. "Relax, girl. I promise I'll let you see her again after we get back in. We've still got a Scyther to catch, okay?"

Eevee really didn't want to wait that long, but she had gotten her wish, so she would be patient. There would be plenty of time to talk and play with Green Eyes later.

Ash was beyond thrilled with the new addition, but he still really wanted to try and capture a Scyther, so it was back to the forest edge to wait until one of the enormous bugs came out for a drink. "Come on, Eevee. Let's go!"

Eevee ran after him as Ash led her back to their hiding spot, content in the knowledge that her travels were going to get much better with Green Eyes going with them.

Hours after the pair disappeared, the Slowpoke that had been sitting on the rock finally blinked and made a low, confused noise. Hadn't there been two Pokemon and a human in front of it just a moment ago?


	11. The Ninja

_Chapter Eleven: The Ninja_

Ash and Eevee ended up waiting for hours by the lakeside, but never saw even a glimpse of a Scyther. The rare bug types simply would not show themselves. Either they could see the waiting pair somehow and weren't willing to drink while they were around, or they were drinking somewhere else.

Four hours into their Safari Zone excursion, Ash gave up on their plan to be patient. "Alright, Eevee. I think if there was a thirsty Scyther around, it would have come by already. We should probably just start searching through the jungle. We only have a couple of hours left before we have to head back in."

Eevee yawned in agreement. She'd taken to napping for the last couple of hours and stood up slowly, stretching the stiffness from her muscles. Ash scratched the normal type behind her ears and shouldered his bag. He wasn't willing to throw in the towel yet, but he had to admit that the odds of them running into a Scyther at the lakeside by this point was about as likely as Gary admitting that Ash was the better trainer.

In other words, it wasn't going to happen.

"What do you think, girl?" Ash asked her as they started to walk into the forest. "You think there might be a Scyther running around here somewhere?"

Eevee shrugged, getting a smile from her trainer. "I guess there's only one way to really find out, huh?"

* * *

In the end, they didn't find the Scyther Ash wanted.

Despite combing as much of the jungle as they could within the last hour, there wasn't so much as a hint of their quarry. Ash was disappointed by that, but he was pretty sure any luck he'd brought with him to the Safari Zone had been used up completely when Eevee talked Dratini into coming with them. He was plenty happy with what he had- Dratini were incredibly rare, and Ash had no doubt that she would become a fantastic member of his team.

That was more than enough reason to call their excursion a huge success. He hadn't gotten the rare bug type he wanted, but he'd gotten a dragon type that would more than make up for it. Ash certainly wouldn't complain.

Janine met up with him at the Safari Zone entrance, smiling when she saw him come back in from the wilderness. He was muddy, sweating, and exhausted, but grinning like a fool. She took his expression as a sign of success. "You captured your quarry, then?"

"Not quite," Ash said cheerily, surprising the Gym Leader in-training. "But I still got something really good with Eevee's help."

Eevee chirped agreement, puffing her chest out proudly. She was still over the moon that Green Eyes would be joining them on their travels. Ash had only truly come out of the Safari Zone a winner because she had talked the Dratini into coming along. So yes, she was extremely pleased with herself.

She had to wrinkle her nose, though. After six hours spent in the humid jungle, Ash smelled terrible. She refused to believe that she smelled terrible as well, but there was no harm in making sure she spent a little extra time grooming later on.

She _did_ have a reputation to keep up.

Janine blinked in confusion, but Ash went on before she could question him. "I'll show you later. Right now, I need a shower- and food."

His stomach literally growled on cue and Ash couldn't stop his face from reddening. Eevee snickered for a moment, but then _her_ stomach betrayed her by mimicking Ash's, causing the normal type to immediately avert her gaze and fluff her fur with embarrassment. Janine grinned. "Well, why don't you head back to the Pokemon Center and get yourself cleaned up? I'll go back to the gym and pick up your Pokemon for you. I need to get Arbok and Venonat as well."

"That would be great," Ash agreed. "Then I'll see you later."

* * *

Ash couldn't help but groan in relief when he finally got into the shower. He didn't think water could ever feel so good, but it was utter perfection to have all the mud and sweat and grime washed from his tired body. The Safari Zone's terrain had been some of the most difficult he'd ever been through, and certainly the toughest he'd ever traversed in a single day. The hot water flowing over him felt like liquid nirvana.

He was, however, wearing swim trunks in this instance because Eevee insisted on getting a bath. Ash didn't think she would like cold water since he fully intended to enjoy the hot water while it was available, so he threw on the water type Pokemon-themed shorts that his mother had provided him without complaint and let her into the shower so they could both get cleaned up.

He was definitely glad that the Pokemon Center also provided trainers with shampoo for their Pokemon. Ash really hadn't even thought about it before, but he figured that if they felt a little extra cleaning was necessary in addition to their usual grooming, then he would indulge them. Eevee insisted that the boy wash himself off first before touching her, though.

She would _not_ let him touch her as long as he smelled like a swamp.

Once Ash had cleaned himself up to her satisfaction, Eevee relented and allowed him to pour some of the shampoo over her fur. Sitting in the tub while the water showered down, Ash worked the cleansing liquid through her fur with his fingers, trying his best to be gentle.

Eevee was curled up in his lap with her eyes closed, relaxing under the soothing hands, warm water, and cleansing shampoo. The treatment was new to her, but she certainly could get used to it. Ash's hands were able to get at the spots in her fur that she had trouble reaching and Eevee would be kidding herself if she thought that it didn't feel ridiculously good.

Ash smiled as he watched Eevee begin to doze in his lap, lulled by the gentle cleaning. "You're pretty tired, huh girl?"

Eevee mumbled some quiet response that made Ash chuckle a bit. He spent fifteen minutes working the shampoo through Eevee's fur and making sure she was completely clean before washing it all out. After all the soap was out of Eevee's brown coat, Ash toweled her off with one of the smaller towels in the bathroom. The jostling woke her up a bit, but she didn't care.

He exited the shower with Eevee wrapped up in a fluffy towel and set her on the bed before grabbing a clean set of clothes for himself and returning to the bathroom to quickly change. Once he was in some more comfortable clothes, Ash went back to Eevee and finished drying her off with the towel, grinning widely when he saw her dozing. "Eevee, let's get you something to eat before you sleep, okay?"

Eevee groaned in protest, but even she wouldn't deny that her stomach could use a little food. She looked at Ash with an expression that said it all, and he couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, I'll carry you."

He gathered her up in his arms by his chest and made sure she was comfortable before carrying her out of the room and towards the cafeteria. Eevee snuggled into the white cotton shirt Ash was wearing, thoroughly tired and not at all against the idea of sleeping for a week. Ash did his best to prevent her from bouncing around in his arms too much, figuring that a lot of movement would make her cranky.

"Well, someone's tired."

Ash blinked as he saw Janine waiting for him at the same table they'd eaten at the night before. He walked over and replied quietly. "She's just about ready to pass out, but I wanted her to eat something first. She needs it after running all over the Safari Zone today."

"You look like you need it as well," Janine chuckled. She reached into a pouch at her belt and handed Ash his other four pokeballs. "Here. Safe, just as I promised."

"Thank you," Ash said honestly, setting his four companions at his belt in their familiar places. He would feed them back in his room, after introducing Dratini to them. Eevee needed to eat now because Ash seriously doubted she was going to last another hour before passing out. He got Eevee some food from the Pokemon section of the cafeteria and watched with a smile as she nibbled at it lazily on the seat beside him.

Janine also smiled at the sight. "She looks very relaxed. You clearly treat her well."

"She worked hard today," he replied, scratching Eevee's fur just behind her ears. "She's earned a little babying, I think."

Eevee yawned rather cutely then and Ash's smile widened further. The last time he'd seen her so relaxed was around Cynthia's Glaceon, and frankly he was overjoyed that their bond had reached this point. Actively battling with him, training, and helping to capture other Pokemon were huge steps forward for her, not to mention the extra bonding time they had gotten throughout the day. Ash felt like Eevee was truly happy to be around him now, more so than she'd ever been since joining his team.

Around the time Eevee had finished eating, settled in Ash's lap with a full tummy, and was basically on the verge of entering a food coma, Leaf and Misty walked into the cafeteria. The two girls had enormous grins on their faces.

Janine smirked. "Well, you two appear to have had a successful venture, no?"

"Oh yeah," Misty grinned wildly, giving Leaf a high-five. " _Hugely_ successful."

Leaf looked incredibly smug, apparently too pleased to speak. Ash had no idea what it was that they had captured, but he bet his bottom dollar that it was quite significant to get this kind of reaction out of them.

"Well, Ash and I got some new Pokemon today as well," Janine told them. Ash smiled and nodded, causing the two girls standing beside their table to grin even more.

"How about we compare captures?" Leaf suggested. "Let's go to the training field."

* * *

The training field was quiet in the early hours of night. The four trainers had walked out just as a couple of other people were finishing a battle there, allowing them to have the field to themselves. Ash had Eevee curled up in his arms, as she had sleepily insisted on staying outside of her Luxury Ball. He was pretty sure she knew that he was about to let Dratini loose for the first time since capturing her, and Eevee wanted to see her newfound friend.

Janine pulled out a Safari Ball first. "Right, here is my newest partner- come, Nidoran!"

A rather large, male Nidoran materialized from the capture device, boasting an impressive horn. Ash guessed from its size that the creature was probably on the verge of evolving, and it was clearly used to fighting. It gave the girls a passive look, but upon seeing Ash, it narrowed its eyes and growled challengingly.

"Nidoran, these are my friends. Be calm," Janine ordered the poison type. It gave her a leery look like it was debating actually listening to her, but with a snort, Nidoran sat down on its stubby legs and obeyed. Janine smiled at her newest Pokemon. "Good. There will be plenty of time to train later, my friend."

Misty actually took out two pokeballs and tapped the release on them both, unleashing a pair of identical, clam-like Pokemon. Ash eyed them curiously. He assumed that they were Clamperl, since they were definitely not Shellder. They were quite shy, only slightly peeking out from within the safety of their hard shells.

"Alright, these are my new Clamperl," Misty smiled at them happily. "Aren't they cute?"

Janine observed them with a trained eye. "They're fascinating. And they can evolve into two different forms?"

"Mmhm," Misty confirmed. "Gorebyss and Huntail. I don't have either of the items I need for them to evolve yet, but I want to train them for a few months first, anyways. I'd like to get to know them both well before they evolve."

Ash heard a low clapping noise as one of the Clamperl closed their shells completely, evidently nervous upon finding itself out of its element. Misty recalled them both pretty quickly. "I'll let them loose again once I get back to my gym. It'll be a lot easier to interact with them when they're back in the water."

"Me next!" Leaf exclaimed, grabbing a single pokeball and releasing the contents excitedly.

He got a surprise when a big Seadra appeared, balancing easily on its curled tail. The water type looked around to take in its surroundings, grunting when its dark eyes found Leaf. She smiled at her new Pokemon cheerfully. "Hi, Seadra! These are my friends!"

Seadra eyed the other trainers and rested its gaze on Misty for a moment, apparently recognizing the girl. It then looked at Ash and Janine, seemingly indifferent to them until Nidoran growled from Janine's side, bristling his toxic spikes. Seadra's eyes narrowed and it made a deep, rumbling sound that Ash easily interpreted as displeasure. Its considerably bigger and more intimidating spines easily outdid Nidoran's and it looked ready to blast the arrogant poison type.

"They're eager, if nothing else," Ash grinned at the pair's antics.

Janine shot Nidoran a disapproving look and recalled him before he could start a fight. She sighed. "I apologize for him. He will learn respect in time."

Seadra huffed, apparently still a little annoyed, but it relaxed when Leaf smiled again. "It's okay, Seadra. We'll get some training in soon, I promise!"

That seemed to satisfy the water type and it puffed its chest out, obviously proud of its power and eager to make itself stronger. Ash could only imagine its capabilities when Seadra eventually evolved into Kingdra, one of only a few dragon types that resided in the deep ocean. They were infamous for supposedly creating whirlpools by yawning.

If that said anything about their latent power, Ash couldn't begin to think of what they could be capable of when they got angry.

Leaf recalled Seadra a moment later, aware that the water type was probably more interested in fighting than having people gawking at it. She glanced at Ash. "So, what'd you catch?"

He looked down at Eevee, who finally appeared to be interested. She had only dozed as the girls released their new Pokemon, but upon hearing that Ash was going to release her newfound friend, she found the energy in herself to wake up a bit.

Ash grinned and knelt to set Eevee down, as he doubted she would enjoy him simply letting her jump out of his arms. He stood back up and pulled the Safari Ball out, then tapped the release.

Dratini materialized and blinked her big, green eyes at them. She cooed at the sight of Eevee padding up to her and trilled when the normal type greeted her with a happy chirp. Now that she was out of the water, Ash realized that Dratini was about six feet long- pretty average for her species. She would get a little bigger as she neared evolution, but if there was one thing Ash knew for sure, it was that dragon types grew really slowly compared to other species of Pokemon.

"Oh my gosh!" Misty gasped at the sight of the small dragon. "She's gorgeous!"

Ash had no idea how she knew that Dratini was female, especially since Janine seemed somewhat dumbfounded and Leaf's eyes were wide. "That's a Dratini…isn't it?"

Dratini froze at the sight of the three girls gaping at her, but Eevee yipped that they wouldn't hurt her. They were Ash's friends and simply wanted to see her. Dratini really wasn't that confident about it and Ash could tell, so he walked over and knelt beside the small dragon.

"Hey girl, do you want to go back in your ball?" He asked gently. Dratini nodded despite Eevee's protests, but Ash scratched the normal type's ears to calm her. "It's okay, Eevee. I'll let Dratini out again when we're back in our room and it's quieter."

Eevee didn't seem happy about that, but integrating a new team member was always a process. Green Eyes was on the shy side and they would simply have to take her personality into account while doing so.

Ash recalled her and then picked Eevee back up as he faced his friends. Leaf was still gaping at him. "Where on earth did you get a Dratini?"

"Well, Eevee actually met her by chance when I was looking for a Scyther in the Safari Zone and they hit it off," Ash explained. "Since they got along so well, I asked Dratini if she wanted to come along and that was that."

"So that is why you were so pleased despite not getting the Scyther you wanted," Janine realized with a grin. "I am impressed by your Eevee's resourcefulness. Many have searched for a Dratini, though few have succeeded and fewer still have captured one. My father has shown them to me before, but I have never seen one outside of the water."

"I owe it to Eevee," Ash smiled down at the sleepy normal type. "Without her, I wouldn't have even known Dratini was there."

Eevee tilted her chin up slightly as a sign of her pride. She was pleased that she'd made Ash happy, even if it was only by making a new friend to bring with them. Frankly, Eevee didn't really care if Green Eyes was a rare Pokemon- they got along, and that was all she cared about. If she had been a more common species, Eevee still would have insisted that Ash capture her.

But Eevee was tired and she was ready to go to sleep. Ash noticed this and looked back up at his friends. "Hey guys, Eevee's getting tired and I need to introduce Dratini to the rest of the team. I'm gonna turn in for the night, okay?"

"Okay," Misty replied. "Leaf and I need to eat. It was hard work fishing all day! Janine, what's your plan?"

"I need to go back to the gym," Janine told her. "My father will likely return from his League work very soon."

Leaf blinked. "So Koga wasn't around today?"

"No," Ash admitted ruefully. "But Janine and I did have our battle."

"And a good battle it was," Janine smiled. "Goodnight, everyone. I will see you all again tomorrow."

* * *

Once Ash was back in his room, he set Eevee down on the bed and smiled when she immediately curled up. "You think you'll make it through Dratini's introduction, girl?"

Eevee mumbled some half-coherent response that told him she would do her best, but there were no promises. He couldn't blame her for that. She was full, sleepy, and clean, and if she was happy then Ash was happy too.

He released the older members of his team first. Since Dratini's personality was rather shy, Ash wanted to explain that to the others before they scared the dragon too much. He was pretty sure Douse and Spectre would be fine, but Pyro and Sobek had a habit of demonstrating their power in a rather aggressive way, and that would undoubtably frighten Dratini.

"Hey, guys," Ash greeted his team. Once they all chorused a response to him, he got down to business. "I'm sure most of you are hungry and probably wondering where I was all day, so I'll make this quick. Eevee and I went into the Safari Zone today and we spent a long time in there looking for new Pokemon. We have a new member of the team."

That got some excited responses, but they calmed when Ash raised a hand for silence. "It's a Dratini- a dragon type, but she's a little shy, okay? I'm going to introduce her to you now, so keep things quiet and just be polite."

He gave Pyro and Sobek a pointed look and the pair almost looked offended at the expression despite the other members of the team offering them dry glances. Ash didn't push it though and he trusted them to act properly around Dratini until she was comfortable around them all.

Ash took her Safari Ball out and tapped the release, setting the small dragon loose into the room. She blinked and glanced around, more relaxed now that there weren't people staring at her, but still somewhat uneasy at the sight of four strange Pokemon.

"Dratini?" Ash got her attention by speaking gently, and he smiled when she looked at him. "Hey, girl. This is the rest of my team, okay? They're going to be your travel companions from now on along with Eevee and I."

Dratini looked at the other Pokemon then and offered a polite trill of greeting. Pyro offered the first response by waving one of his powerful arms rather than typically roaring and spouting tongues of flame, so Ash shot him an approving look. Sobek mirrored Pyro as did Douse, then Spectre floated over to Dratini and tapped her big white nose with his wispy arm. She trilled in amusement at the little ghost and poked him back with her nose. Spectre made a hollow chuckle and floated around the dragon, evidently pleased.

Pyro, Sobek, and Douse followed Spectre's lead and approached Dratini so they could all inspect each other a bit more closely now that everyone was more relaxed. Ash sat down on his bed beside a very sleepy Eevee and watched the interaction with a smile. He quietly pulled his Pokedex out while they were all getting to know each other and pointed it at Dratini.

 _Dratini, the Dragon Pokemon. It is called the "Mirage Pokemon" because so few have seen it. Dratini continually sheds its skin as it gets older. As it nears evolution, the life energy in its body reaches nearly uncontrollable levels, so it sheds more frequently. It lives in small colonies found in deep water._

 _This Dratini is female and knows the moves Wrap, Thunder Wave, Dragon Rage, Slam, Safeguard, Agility, Aqua Tail, and Dragon Tail. Its ability is Shed Skin, which allows it to slough off status conditions like burns, paralysis, poison, etc._

Ash nodded to himself. Dratini had a good move set that he could easily expand upon. She could immobilize, guard, and attack- giving her a whole variety of ways to maneuver in battle. Ash had no doubt that training her would quickly allow Dratini to become a powerful asset on his team.

Once his Pokemon had gotten familiar with each other, Ash called Dratini over to him. She slithered over across the floor easily, eyes shifting from Ash to the barely-conscious form of Eevee. She trilled at Eevee, who managed some vague, unintelligible response that made Dratini tilt her head in a comedic fashion. Ash chuckled at the quizzical expression on her face and spoke gently. "Eevee's just really sleepy, Dratini. She's about ready to turn in for the night."

Dratini's eyes cleared in understanding and she looked back up at Ash. He reached out to scratch her scales behind her spiky white ears, getting a happy trill from the small dragon. "I want to know if you'd like a nickname, girl. Eevee doesn't have one, but the rest of the team do. If you don't want one, then that's okay. If you do, just let me know."

She considered his words for several minutes and Ash could practically see the gears turning in her head as she thought about it. Eventually, she offered a tentative nod.

Ash spent a long while thinking about a name for her. He wanted something that would suit Dratini's gentle personality, and he was constantly drawn to the soft green eyes. They were a defining feature of Dratini that he was compelled to add into her name, and after a while, he settled on one that he felt truly fit her.

"Jasmine."

Her green eyes glimmered when he said it and the more Ash thought about it, the more he felt that the name suited Dratini. She was a shy, gentle creature that didn't really need a more aggressive name like Pyro or Sobek. And honestly, he couldn't imagine her any other way.

The newly dubbed Jasmine nodded in approval and then glanced at the basically sleeping ball of fluff that was Eevee. Ash smiled at the dragon's attention to her new friend. "Do you want something to eat before we sleep?"

Jasmine perked up at the mention of food and trilled eagerly. Hearing that also got the others to stare at Ash with expectant looks. He grinned at the sudden interest from his friends and grabbed his bag, then pulled out several cans of Pokemon food, which he gave to each of his team members. Pyro, Sobek, and Douse all sat down to eat, though Pyro growled when Sobek tried to sneakily take some extra from his share. Ash offered a bit to Spectre, who had the smallest appetite of the group, and the little ghost took his share before lazily floating over to the window so he could stare outside while he ate.

Ash set his hand on Eevee's head and gently ran his fingers through her fur, lulling the normal type into full, deep sleep at last. He rubbed his eyes with his other hand, feeling the effects of their trek through the Safari Zone going through his own muscles. Before he let himself fall asleep, however, he grabbed the fireproof blanket he always let Pyro rest his tail on and spread it across the floor. Only then, when he was certain that there would be no risk of the room going up in flames while they slept, did Ash retreat to his bed and pass out.

* * *

He was woken up by a curious, if slightly hesitant trill. Ash frowned and blinked his eyes open, freezing when he saw the big green orbs staring back at him from literally inches away. It took a moment for him to remember that the Dratini was his newest partner, but once he remembered that he grew calm again. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and mumbled lowly. "Hey, girl. What's up?"

She cooed again and he smiled at the sound. Jasmine's head was hovering over him, while the rest of her long, serpentine body was still on the floor. Ash sat up and glanced at the clock, pausing when he realized that it was only seven in the morning. He arched an eyebrow at that. "You know, we can sleep in a little longer. The sun is barely up right now."

That didn't deter Jasmine in the slightest and Ash got the feeling she was used to getting up early in the morning. He sighed, but he was awake and he felt way better after having a good night's sleep. Ash glanced around the room and smirked. The rest of his team certainly weren't about to wake up anytime soon. Pyro was sprawled out on the floor, burning tail still lying on his fireproof blanket while he snored. Sobek was next to him, and Douse was belly-up as usual. Eevee, of course, was fast asleep on his bed and hadn't so much as twitched when Ash got up.

Spectre didn't need to sleep much, though, and true to form, the little ghost was hovering by the window, staring at the sun as it rose over the horizon. He turned to see Ash stand up out of bed and made a small, hollow sound of greeting. Ash smiled back and prodded the Duskull's mask when he floated closer. He still had no idea why the ghost liked that gesture, but it made him happy.

Ash stretched his arms over his head and glanced at Jasmine. "What do you say we go outside, girl?"

She trilled at that and he took it as a yes, so Ash quietly led her out of the room, but he paused at the door and turned back. "Spectre, do you want to come with us?"

The Duskull glanced around the room of sleeping Pokemon and Ash thought for a moment that his single red eye had a suspiciously gleeful glint to it. Spectre shook his head and Ash nodded to him, but as he left the room he had a feeling that he was going to come back to a prank of some kind.

Ash only hoped he wouldn't provoke Pyro into setting the room ablaze.

He led Jasmine down the hallways of the Pokemon Center, which was empty for the most part. They got a surprised stare from another trainer, who probably wasn't sure if he had actually seen a Dratini or not. Ash couldn't help but grin when he caught the kid rubbing his eyes and staring with an astounded expression.

Jasmine didn't seem to be as entertained by the attention, but she relaxed when Ash ran his fingers over her neck. He was really intrigued by the texture of her scales. Pyro scales felt really tough and Sobek's had a rugged feel to them all over his body with the exception of his softer underbelly. Jasmine's scales felt smooth under his touch and almost silky. They still held a definite firmness, but Ash was fascinated by how unusually soft her scales were.

It made him wonder if that was a trait all Dratini held or if she was just really young. He kind of doubted the latter considering the number of moves she knew, but then again, he didn't know very much about her species at all. Maybe all young Dratini were this versatile?

The questions bouncing around in his head caused Ash to realize that he hadn't contacted Professor Oak or his mother since he got into Fuchsia. He thought about it a moment more before deciding to give them a call. Both of them were probably up and already working.

He led Jasmine to the phone booth and she gave him a curious trill, obviously wondering why they were here and not heading outside. Ash smiled at her. "I just have to check something real quick, girl. We'll go outside in a moment."

She nodded at that, so Ash typed in the number for Oak's lab and hit the call button. It rang for several seconds before the Professor himself answered the phone, wide awake and looking a little more jittery than normal, like he'd had one too many shots of espresso.

Oak blinked in surprise. "Ash! I didn't expect to see you this early in the morning!"

"Well, my newest team member likes to get up with the sun," he chuckled, glancing at the shy Dratini that was already giving the Professor a wary look. "This is Jasmine, my Dratini. Jasmine, this is Professor Oak. He's a really great friend and he knows a lot about Pokemon."

Jasmine offered the man a small trill, but she didn't seem overly eager, though Ash found himself cracking a smile when she appeared fascinated by the video phone. He doubted that she'd ever seen anything quite like that before.

Oak's eyes widened. "My stars, you have caught a treasure, haven't you? It's been a long time since I last saw a Dratini. Not since one of my meetings with Lance a few years back. I saw your trainer file updated yesterday with her information, but I don't think I believed it until now. You found her in the Safari Zone?"

"Well, sort of," Ash admitted as he lifted a hand to scratch Jasmine's scales and help her relax. "Actually, Eevee was the one who found her. I was trying to find a Scyther and Eevee found Jasmine by the lake. They hit it off, so she decided to come with us."

"You're a lucky young man, Ash," Oak told him as he inspected Jasmine with a trained eye. "I spent years searching for a Dratini, though that was decades before the Safari Zone was developed. Goodness, I was fifteen when I finally found mine…"

The Professor took a second to reminisce and Ash recalled that Oak did in fact have a Dragonite from his days as a trainer. He had only ever seen it once or twice because it lived on the outskirts of Pallet Town in a small mountainous area, but the beast was a definitive example of a Dragonite in its prime. Oak had been a powerful trainer before he dedicated his life to researching Pokemon, and Dragonite was the cornerstone of his team from those days. He had once shown Ash, Gary, and Leaf a video of one of his old League matches and the boy doubted that he would ever forget how _ungodly_ powerful Oak's Dragonite was. He was sure that only Lance's own dragons held a candle to the dragon type.

Oak's experience with the Dragonite line was something he needed to know about in order to raise Jasmine properly, so he got to the point. "That's why I called you, Professor. I need your help."

The Professor snapped back to the present as Ash went on. "I don't really know where to begin with Jasmine's training. She's got a great move pool, but what should I start working on with her?"

"Hmm…" Oak scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I would advise working on technique and widening the range of moves she can use for now. You won't really need to focus on raw power until she evolves into a Dragonair. Dratini store life energy in their bodies at a steady rate as they grow, far more so than most other Pokemon. It's how they prepare themselves for evolution in the wild. Whether you work on power with her or not at this stage is up to you, but it won't affect how much life energy she builds up, and that's really the key. There are no shortcuts to speed that process up. You will simply have to be patient."

Ash nodded as he made a mental note of that. Most of his team, like Pyro or Sobek for instance, grew by becoming more powerful physically and literally working up to their evolution. Jasmine was a slightly different case since her body developed by storing energy. It would be a more time-consuming process than promoting her growth with typical training, but he could work with that.

"Oh yeah, I had one other thing to ask you about her," Ash remembered suddenly. "Jasmine's scales feel really smooth, kind of like silk. Are they all like that? I've never seen a Pokemon with scales like that before."

"Like silk, eh?" The Professor smiled. "That means she probably shed her skin a day or two ago. The scales will get tough again before too long, but a Dratini's shedding is always followed by a few days of very soft skin. It's fascinating, isn't it?"

Ash nodded, smiling when Jasmine cooed to get his attention. He rubbed her scales again and was rewarded with a happy trill from the small dragon. "That's really interesting. I never knew Dratini did that. There's not a lot of information I could find on them, even in the Pokedex."

"That reminds me, don't battle with her while she's in that state, Ash," Oak startled the young trainer with his warning. "Dratini are vulnerable after shedding. It would be frighteningly easy to cause her body permanent harm while her scales are soft. Technique work is fine, but refrain from any combat training until her scales become tough again."

"No battles right after shedding. Check," Ash promised the Professor. "How often will she shed, anyway?"

Oak squinted at Jasmine again, who was leaning into Ash's hand while he scratched her scales. "I'd say she's about five years old. It's hard for me to tell from here, but she looks close to the average size for a Dratini. Anyways, that's a good thing for you. Newly hatched Dratini shed twice a month and keep that pattern up for their first couple of years. It's nearly impossible to train them since their bodies are constantly fragile. Jasmine should only shed once every three months or so. However, I should add that as she gets close to evolving into a Dragonair, her shedding pace will increase dramatically. When that starts to happen, you'll have to stop battling with her until she evolves."

Ash tried to get all that down at once, but it was a lot to take in. "Wow, that's…that's pretty complicated."

"If you ever wondered why Lance is revered by even the strongest of trainers, now you know," Oak chuckled. "Training a dragon type is exceedingly difficult, Ash. They require immense investments of patience and effort in order for them to reach their fullest potential. Lance and the dragon clan of Blackthorn City have perfected that kind of unique training more than almost anyone else in the world."

Jasmine nudged Ash's shoulder with her white nose to get his attention again and he smiled at her. "It's worth it, I'll bet."

"It is. Now, did you have any more questions? I don't mind answering them, but I'm a little pressed for time at the moment."

"Just one more. How's mom?"

Oak chuckled. "Oh, she's right in her element. She's playing matchmaker to my breeding pairs here at the lab. We were actually sent a few Kangaskhan from the Safari Zone last week to assist with their efforts to boost the population. Kangaskhan are difficult to breed in captivity, but your mother has a talent for achieving the impossible."

Ash grinned. "Well, she did put up with me for ten years."

The Professor burst out laughing, causing Jasmine to rear back with eyes wide in surprise. Ash assured her all was well until Oak caught his breath and sighed, merriment still obvious on his face. "Well, I'll let her know that you called. Goodbye, Ash- actually, wait! One more thing. When do you intend on returning to Pallet for a visit?"

Ash paused at that. He actually hadn't even thought about going back home ever since he left. Obviously he would have to go back at some point to see his mother and Professor Oak, but when?

"You know, I really haven't thought about it," he admitted.

Oak nodded. "Gary told me the same thing not too long ago. I'll tell you what, why don't you come back for a week after your cruise on the St. Anne? I can give you a direct analysis of your team and you can see your mother again. She really does miss you, you know."

"That would be great," Ash said. "I think I'll do that."

"I look forward to seeing you again," Oak smiled at him. "Have a great day, Ash."

"Same to you Professor," he replied, then ended the call.

Ash turned to face Jasmine and grinned. "So, you wanted to go outside, right?"

The Dratini trilled in delight and nuzzled her head beneath his chin, causing Ash to laugh while he scratched her scales. They were going to get along just fine.

* * *

In fact, Jasmine really wanted to go outside so that she could bask in the warm morning sun. Ash ended up sitting on the edge of the training field while the Dratini coiled around him, resting her head in his lap so he could continue to scratch behind her ears. This was behavior he was used to seeing from Pyro and Sobek as well; their reptilian anatomy meant that they often needed a little sunbathing early in the day to get themselves going. Pyro had an easier time getting ready for training because of his fire typing, but he still enjoyed relaxing in the sun.

Jasmine very much enjoyed it, Ash noted as she soaked up the morning rays. They spent about thirty minutes like that until she was warm and ready to make the most of whatever the day brought with it. Ash intended to test out her attacks while they were out here and the town was still quiet- it was still fairly early in the day, after all, but his plans were cut short somewhat when Janine showed up.

"Breaking in the new team member?" Janine called to Ash as she walked over to the training field.

Ash nodded. "Yeah. I still haven't gotten to see what she can do, but she wanted to sunbathe for a bit."

"I see. Well, we can have a battle if you feel like seeing what she is capable of. I have yet to test out Nidoran's skills as well."

"She can't, actually," Ash told her. When Janine blinked in confusion, he elaborated. "I talked to Professor Oak this morning about her, and he told me that she just shed her skin. Her scales are really soft right now, so fighting is too dangerous."

Janine's eyes cleared in understanding. "Ah, I understand. My father has a Pokemon with a similar trait. Which reminds me, that is why I came here so early. My father has returned to the gym."

His expression brightened. "Koga's back?"

"Yes. He asked that I inform both you and Leaf that he will be prepared for a battle with you around midday. However, he is limited on time because this League business is still as of yet concluded. He and his Pokemon are resting at the moment, and will be ready for your challenge at noon sharp, so if you have any training you want to get done, I suggest you get started."

Ash grinned. "Thanks for telling me. I think I need to go wake up the rest of my team. They're in for a good morning workout."

Janine smirked. "I should think so. Go get your Pokemon- I shall go wake Leaf."

He nodded, then took off with Jasmine slithering after him. She trilled curiously and he glanced at her over his shoulder with a wide smile. "We've got work to do, girl. We've got a lot of work to do."

* * *

One hour of warm-up training, a check-up with Nurse Joy, and a strategy meeting with Leaf later, Ash found himself standing outside of the Fuchsia Gym with his friends. He was as ready as he'd ever be at this point. He and Leaf had discussed their opponent as thoroughly as they could, and Ash knew how he was going to fight him. Janine hadn't told them the kinds of Pokemon they would be facing, but she did let them know that they would likely be battling three on three.

Koga was known throughout Kanto for using poison as his primary means of attack, then whittling away at helpless opponents with crafty tactics. Just from a typing standpoint, Sobek was a must-have for this battle. His ground type attacks would be capable of seriously damaging Koga's poison type Pokemon, and Ash would have to wipe them out quickly before his opponent could poison his team. That was one.

Ash considered using Eevee because of her ability to use Refresh, but he wasn't sure if she had the experience necessary to take on Koga's team. She had done well in their battle against Janine, but that was against a Pokemon that Janine wasn't used to fighting against. Koga was a seasoned veteran, and he wouldn't be using amateur Pokemon in a gym battle.

Spectre also wasn't an option. He had only narrowly won a battle against Erika by using her Gloom's power against it, and even then, he was nearly defeated by poison. Ash really wanted him to have more power and versatility before he used the ghost in a gym battle again.

Jasmine was completely out of the question.

That left him with Douse and Pyro, and Ash was okay with that lineup. Pyro, Sobek, and Douse were his three most powerful Pokemon right now, and even though he was worried about only relying on raw power against a tricky opponent like Koga, he had to admit that they were his best shot at defeating the poison type master.

Janine led the group inside and took them to a different room than the one where she and Ash had battled. As they stepped in, he realized that Koga was already waiting for them on the opposite side of the battlefield.

"Welcome to the Fuchsia Gym," he called to them, voice deep and commanding. Koga struck Ash as a military man from his stiff posture and stern expression. Though as opposed to Surge, who was rather carefree, the ninja seemed far more serious.

Janine bowed to the Gym Leader. "Father, I have brought the two challengers as requested."

Koga grunted. "Good. I only have so much time available to me today, so let us get started immediately. Janine, you will referee."

She nodded then and headed to the side of the field. Ash glanced at Leaf. "Ladies first?"

"You can go. You were supposed to fight Koga yesterday, anyways. Besides, watching him beat you will let me figure out how to win," she finished with a grin.

He rolled his eyes. "Watch and learn."

Ash went over to the challengers side of the field and faced Koga. The ninja's voice rang clear across the room. "Janine tells me you have four badges. Is this correct?"

"Yes, sir," he confirmed politely.

"Very well. Janine, begin the match."

"Yes! This Fuchsia Gym match will now commence! It will be a three on three match and will conclude when all of one trainer's Pokemon are unable to battle. Furthermore, there are to be no substitutions. The first attack will go to the challenger."

With a swift flourish, Koga threw a pokeball and unleashed Ash's first opponent- a Golbat. The poison type was flying around right off the bat, flapping its large wings and setting off small bursts of sound to echolocate. Golbat could see much better than the smaller Zubat, but they still used echolocation as a reflex.

Ash responded by setting Sobek loose. The croc roared loudly to announce himself and immediately glared at Golbat, curling his lip in a snarl. Golbat hissed back, though Koga only quirked an eyebrow. He didn't even seem particularly surprised by the sight of the Krokorok.

Janine slashed her hand down. "Begin!"

"Use Stone Edge!" Ash ordered.

Sobek immediately slammed his fist into the ground, triggering spires of rock to punch up from the field in a line towards Golbat. Koga didn't even have to say anything for the bat to dodge them, flying around the dangerous attack with ease.

"Screech."

Ash barely heard the command from across the field before a piercing shriek forced him to throw his hands over his ears. Sobek roared furiously and shook his head to clear the sound, but while the Screech had him distracted, Golbat blurred in from above and bit at the Krokorok's arm with its sharp fangs.

Sobek's rage-filled bellow replaced the sound of Screech and he snapped at Golbat on reflex. His sharp teeth narrowly missed the poison type, who quickly retreated back into the air. Sobek snarled and glared after the bat with a loathing look.

"Sobek, focus!" Ash said sharply to get the Krokorok's attention. "Stone Edge again!"

More blades of solid rock punched out of the field, but again, Golbat avoided them with ease. The bat almost seemed to be taunting them- it was no secret that Stone Edge wasn't Sobek's most accurate attack, but it was still infuriating to watch Golbat dance around.

Koga didn't so much as say a word for nearly a minute while Sobek continued to attack and Golbat easily dodged. He was just watching with calculating eyes, betraying nothing of his thoughts. It almost startled Ash when he finally broke his silence. "Haze."

Golbat paused mid-flight and exhaled a stream of pale smoke from its large maw. The Haze filled the battlefield quickly, preventing Ash or Sobek from seeing whatever it was that Golbat was planning.

"Sobek, get ready," Ash muttered. The Krokorok hissed in agreement and glared at the smokescreen, dark eyes trying to discern his target's location. The whole room was silent for several seconds.

Suddenly, a figure darted out of the Haze- followed by another, and another. Ash's eyes widened as a dozen Golbats lunged at Sobek from the air. It was using Double Team, and he had no way of knowing which was the real one.

Ash went for the only option he had. "Dig!"

Sobek immediately burrowed underground, his tail avoiding the snapping teeth of a Golbat by mere inches. Ash pressed his lips from the close call, but Koga apparently had a plan already established. "Screech!"

Ash's thoughts went from relief to horror. "Sobek, _get out of there!"_

His panicked shout was too late. One of the Golbats suddenly flew to the hole in the ground and let loose that horrible sound straight into the tunnel. Ash could _feel_ it reverberating through the field and he felt the blood drain from his face as he considered how much that was hurting Sobek.

He had no idea what condition Sobek was in after getting blasted with that unholy shriek, but Ash was pretty sure nobody expected Sobek's next move.

All he heard was a screaming roar of unfathomable rage and pain, then Sobek came barreling out of the hole right into Golbat's face. The poison type looked utterly surprised by the Krokorok actually running _into_ the Screech attack, but Sobek obviously didn't care. His dark eyes were bloodshot, saliva was dripping from his jaws, and he looked more pissed off than Ash could ever remember seeing him.

Ash didn't even get a command out before Sobek gnashed his teeth into Golbat's wing and ruthlessly whipped his head back and forth, drawing an agonized shriek from the poison type. He opened his mouth to tell Sobek to back off- because he wasn't sure that Sobek would stop if he felt Golbat's wing coming off- but then the Krokorok let go and smashed his fist into the ground, and Ash could only watch as the spire of rock punched into Golbat's stomach and crushed it against the wall.

He was momentarily horrified by the brutality of Sobek's rage. "Stop it!"

Sobek paused momentarily, still snarling, but he turned to face his trainer and blinked at the shocked expression on Ash's face. Had he done something wrong?

The next second a burning pain erupted in the same arm that had been bitten earlier and Sobek let out a caterwaul, feeling his rage come back tenfold. He spun around to see what creature had the _audacity_ to sneak attack him, but the last thing he expected to see was Golbat, who looked mildly tired, but otherwise unharmed.

Both Pokemon and trainer were utterly dumbfounded. Hadn't Golbat just been pancaked by Sobek's Stone Edge? It didn't even look like it had been bitten.

Ash stared across the field to where Koga stood, and saw that the ninja was stoic as ever. "Observe."

He gestured to the wall where Golbat had been crushed just moments before and Ash blinked when he saw the figure of the bat dissolve into nothing. Whatever this was, it new to him- he'd never seen anything like it before.

"Substitute," Koga explained. "Golbat created it when he was concealed in Haze and kept his true body out of sight until you let your guard down. Substitutes are more delicate than actual Pokemon are. Your concern is unnecessary."

Ash didn't even know that a move like that existed in the first place, but he knew now. He chewed his lip nervously. How many of those fakes could Golbat create? The copies were capable of doing actual damage, that was for sure, even if they were relatively weak as defenses were concerned. Golbat looked tired, though. Maybe creating a Substitute took a lot of energy?

He frowned. This threw a monkey wrench into his plans.

Another complication was thrown in when he saw Sobek shivering and realized that Golbat's surprise attack had poisoned him. The Krokorok was angry, but the longer this went on, the faster his energy would drain. Ash mentally smacked himself. He needed to get his act together and fast.

"Sobek, we're on a time limit," he called to the ground type. At Sobek's growl of confirmation, Ash got back into the battle. "Thunder Fang!"

Sobek lunged immediately, trying to use a burst of speed to close the distance to his opponent. Koga's response in the face of a super effective attack was casual. "Charge Dispersal."

To Ash's surprise, Golbat landed and its wings glowed metallic silver. He thought for a second that it intended to counterattack, but all the poison type did was jab the end of one wing into the ground and raise the other one like a shield.

Sobek buried his electrified fangs into Golbat's wing, crunching down as hard as he could. He saw it wince in pain from the great pressure of the bite, yet the electricity just faded from the spot where Thunder Fang had struck. Ash was sure Golbat could feel it, but it didn't seem to be hurting it much at all. It clicked when he saw the metallic wing embedded in the field- Golbat had used one Steel Wing as a lightning rod and the other to disperse the electrical charge harmlessly into the ground.

However simple it was, it was brilliant.

Koga acted a moment later. "Screech."

Ash threw his hands over his ears to protect his own eardrums against the horrible sound. Koga liked using that move way too much in his opinion. Despite the agonizing shriek, Sobek didn't let go, even as his eyes bulged in pain and fury. He was way too pissed and stubborn to just let go like Koga and Golbat wanted, and Ash took full advantage of that as he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Fire Fang!"

The electricity vanished in an instant and was replaced with wreathing flames, causing Golbat's Screech to rise in pitch at the pain for a moment before it stopped making that sound altogether. It hissed furiously at Sobek, but the Krokorok only further gnashed his teeth into the wing. He had a grip and he was _not_ letting go. Electricity wouldn't work on the Steel Wing guard, but flames melted steel- that sort of defense was useless against Fire Fang.

Koga arched an eyebrow. "Your Krokorok has heart. But it has little regard for its own defense. Wing Blade!"

Ash had no idea what a Wing Blade was, but Golbat whipped the left wing that was buried in the ground out in an instant, coiling energy around it for a second before it slashed at Sobek. The blow was too fast for him to avoid and sliced straight into his right flank. Sobek let go with a shriek of pain, but Ash saw an opportunity in that moment. "Use Stone Edge!"

Golbat might have just scored an attack, but the fact was that its right wing had taken a lot of damage and it was already tired from using Substitute. It was also on the ground right now and it was the best shot that they had so far to take it out.

Sobek's fist slammed into the ground not a second after getting slashed with Wing Blade, then a spire of jagged stone erupted from the field right below Golbat and barreled into its body. The bat shrieked in pain as the spire was pushed up further and further, then stopped just short of the wall on Koga's side of the field. As it was, the raw force and momentum threw Golbat into the wall with a dull thud, then the poison type fell straight down and did not get up.

"Golbat is unable to battle! Krokorok wins!" Jasmine announced.

Koga recalled his first Pokemon without a word and considered Sobek carefully. The ground type was breathing heavily and still looked completely furious, though he was wincing from all the damage he'd taken- not to mention the poison Golbat had delivered. Sobek probably didn't have another round in him, but his eyes glowed red as a Moxie boost rushed through his veins and the Krokorok snarled challengingly.

Ash bit his lip. He really didn't want to let Sobek keep battling in his current condition, (never mind that Moxie made him dangerous and terribly strong in combat) but if Koga's first Pokemon had put up that much of a fight, he had a feeling that every little bit would count. He resolved to let Sobek continue.

Koga hurled his second pokeball out and Ash blinked when the Pokemon that came out was something he'd never seen before.

It was bipedal, with short, strong legs and long arms. Its skin was blue in color, with bands of black on its arms, feet, and face. A single horn protruded from its head and pale yellow eyes gazed back at him with an unreadable expression. The Pokemon had a large, red throat sac and a red claws on each of its knuckles. With every breath it took, a low croaking sound reverberated through the room.

"I see you are unfamiliar with my partner," Koga said. "This is Toxicroak. His kind is native to the Sinnoh region's swamplands."

Ash considered Toxicroak for a few moments. It wasn't very large, though it had a presence which made him wary- like he was looking at an ambush predator. The knuckle blades on its hands were obvious weapons, but he really had no idea how this thing was going to fight.

Sobek shuddered again as another round of poison coursed through his veins and Ash mentally smacked himself. He didn't have the luxury of taking his time to analyze Toxicroak while Sobek was in pain. "Ant Lion!"

Sobek dug underground at his command and several moments later, the ground beneath Toxicroak began to fall away into a Sand Tomb. Ash saw Sobek's jaws break the sand as he prepared to bite Toxicroak, but Koga wasn't that gullible.

"Sucker Punch."

Toxicroak's legs pushed it forward with incredible power, launching the poison type at Sobek. It lashed out with a lightning-fast strike and caught Sobek in his lower jaw, forcing his mouth to snap shut, then used the force behind its own strike to flip back and land on the field clear of the Sand Tomb. Ash saw rage in his Pokemon's eyes and Sobek roared, hurling himself out of the sand in order to savage his opponent, but it was at that point that Koga decided enough was enough. "Venoshock."

All Ash saw was Toxicroak rapidly spitting a glob of green liquid, the the sound of that liquid splattered onto Sobek and glowed, brightly and eerily. Sobek's eyes flew open in shock and his jaws parted, but no sound came out. His silent roar of pain lasted just a second before he toppled into a heap on the ground.

"Krokorok is unable to continue! Toxicroak wins!"

Ash recalled Sobek shakily, staring at Toxicroak with a worried expression. He remembered Paul had tried to use that same move in their battle at Celadon City, but he had avoided it then. So that was what happened when it made contact.

He would remember the danger of Venoshock from now on.

He sent out Douse next. The Poliwhirl beat his round body with a fist at the sight of Toxicroak, though the poison type didn't even react. It was very similar to Koga in that way- Toxicroak's behavior was stoic and powerful and its presence demanded respect.

Ash wouldn't get close to Toxicroak immediately this time. He would test it from afar to find a weakness. "Ice Beam!"

Douse reared his body back and unleashed the arcs of icy energy at Toxicroak. His aim was spot-on, and this time Toxicroak simply crossed its arms in front of it and took the attack. Ice Beam pushed it back several feet, but when Douse stopped the assault, Toxicroak casually broke the ice that had formed on its arms. It had probably done that just to get a feel for Douse's strength.

It kind of annoyed him that Toxicroak had withstood the attack so easily and so Ash snapped. "Mud Shot!"

When Douse spat the burst of mud, Koga decided to counter. "Sludge Bomb."

The two attacks collided and exploded in the middle of the field, creating a small smokescreen. That immediately had Ash feeling wary because the last time Koga had been given cover, it had ended disastrously for his Pokemon. He wasn't going to let him pull another trick like that again.

"Use Mud Shot repeatedly," Ash commanded. "Don't stop until it reappears!"

Douse followed his orders faithfully, unleashed blasts of mud at Koga's side of the field. Ash watched tensely the attacks simply vanished into the smoke, but he felt a jolt of satisfaction when he heard a loud smacking sound and then a surprised croak. Whether it was a lucky shot or that Toxicroak had actually been caught off-guard, he had no idea, but Douse immediately focused on the area where he had struck the poison type.

Toxicroak erupted from the fading smoke to avoid the Mud Shots, a flicker of irritation in its eyes. Obviously, it hadn't been able to pull anything behind the brief cover it had while Douse was assaulting its hiding place.

"X-Scissor!" Koga ordered. Toxicroak's knuckle blades glowed briefly as it lunged at Douse with a powerful burst of speed, slashing at him in an X-formation. Douse bounced away and evaded the initial strike, presenting him with an opening to fire another Mud Shot. This time the hit was clean and at close range, causing Toxicroak to be hurled in the opposite direction.

The poison type skidded to a stop and leered at Douse, finally showing actual emotion. It was getting annoyed that its opponent was able to hit it. When Douse fired yet another Mud Shot at Toxicroak, this time it responded with brute force.

Neither Ash nor Douse anticipated the stream of dark rings as it blew the Mud Shot apart and went on to slam right into the Poliwhirl. Douse was lifted off his feet and thrown violently into the wall, and Ash saw the psychic barrier flickered stressfully in response to the negative energy of the Dark Pulse.

Ash's partner slid to the ground with a gurgle of pain, but shakily got to his feet and glared at the poison type across the field. As he considered the best way to get back into the battle, Toxicroak lunged at Douse with its knuckle claw glowing an ominous purple.

"Bubble Beam!" Ash shouted. Douse reared his head back and unleashed a stream of explosive bubbles, which slammed into Toxicroak and forced it away from its opponent. His lips curled up in a grin, certain that Koga's Pokemon was definitely hurting by now.

He was quickly disappointed. The vapor from Bubble Beam faded away to reveal Toxicroak, and the poison type was just fine. In fact, as Ash watched, the wounds that Douse had inflicted earlier seemed to be disappearing. He stared in confusion- it should have been on its last legs, but Toxicroak looked better than ever.

"The first step in defeating an opponent is knowing them," Koga said suddenly. "You yourself have provided such an example of this. Toxicroak's ability is Dry Skin. Water type moves that come into contact with him are absorbed harmlessly and used to heal wounds."

Ash mentally smacked himself for that one. He'd played right into Koga's hands and now Toxicroak had been healed.

Koga took the initiative this time. "Poison Jab."

Toxicroak lunged at Douse while its knuckle blades glowed that deadly violet shade. Douse spat a Mud Shot at the poison type, but it sidestepped with ease and closed in quickly to slash and stab at its opponent. Ash started to shout a counterattack to Douse, but Toxicroak was just too fast and struck the Poliwhirl twice with Poison Jab. Douse gurgled in pain and Ash clenched his fist when he saw the unmistakeable effects of poison appear on his partner. Great.

"Finish it," Koga commanded. "Thunder Leap!"

Toxicroak suddenly bent its knees, then jumped straight up with incredible lower body strength. It twisted in the air and ended up touching the ceiling with its feet, then pushed off and launched itself like a rocket at Douse. Halfway down, its fist crackled with electricity.

Ash yelled as Toxicroak grew near. "Mega Punch!"

Douse waited until Toxicroak was feet away, then he sidestepped and his right fist glowed white. Toxicroak's eyes flashed over towards the water type just in time for the Mega Punch to slam into its chin in a vicious uppercut. The poison type let out a deep, echoing croak that was more akin to a roar, and Ash assumed it was angry from being hit. Toxicroak used the force to flip back and land upright just a few paces away from Douse, still ready to fight.

"Ice Beam!"

"Dark Pulse!"

Rays of freezing energy collided with the stream of dark rings, generating an explosion between the two battling Pokemon and a cloud of smoke erupted in the center of the field. Ash was desperate to turn the battle around and shouted. "Mega Punch!"

Douse lunged into the smoke with his fists at the ready, but he had only disappeared for a moment before Ash heard a thud and then silence. He watched the smoke clear and his heart sank when Toxicroak appeared, one foot on Douse's unconscious form while his partner's body glowed with the green effect of Venoshock. Ash sighed and recalled Douse as Janine announced his second defeat against Toxicroak.

The poison type retreated back to Koga's side of the field and waited with its arms crossed, mirroring its trainer. Ash bit his lip as he considered his opponent. Pyro was his last Pokemon, but Koga still had Toxicroak and another one in reserve. Not to mention, Toxicroak had been mostly healed after Douse hit it with Bubble Beam. He was fighting an uphill battle.

Pyro appeared with a roar and a brandish of his flaming tail, locking eyes with Toxicroak immediately. He was ready to fight until he dropped, regardless of who the opponent was. Ash was certain that his starter could defeat their enemy- the Charmeleon was as stubborn as he was and hated to lose just as much.

Ash mirrored Pyro's glare at Toxicroak and readied himself for a tough battle. "Alright buddy, we've got to turn this around if we're going to win. Dragon Rush!"

Onyx irises narrowed into slits as Pyro lunged at Toxicroak, bolting across the field with all the speed he could muster. Toxicroak had casually been keeping eye contact with its new opponent, but that proved to be a mistake as the intense aura of the attack made it freeze in place momentarily. Pyro slammed headfirst into Toxicroak's stomach, knocking the wind out of the poison type and roughly shoved it several feet away.

For once, Koga seemed a little surprised. "An unusual move to see on a Charmeleon, though it obviously is not yet complete. Poison Jab."

As Toxicroak's knuckle blades glowed purple again, Ash quickly ordered a defense. "Block it with Metal Claw!"

Pyro's talons shimmered metallic silver as they slashed at Toxicroak, meeting each of the Poison Jab attacks with loud, sharp impacts. Toxicroak was fast and it was clear that Pyro was struggling to keep up with its speed, but he managed to block all of the Poison Jabs that it threw his way. Ash waited for a few seconds until Pyro seemed to have adapted to his opponents pace and then snapped. "Grab it!"

The collisions stopped as Pyro's taloned hands clenched and locked onto Toxicroak's fists, preventing it from using Poison Jab for the time being. The poison type blinked in surprise and its trainer seemed faintly impressed.

"Using a steel type move to disarm a poison type attack is clever. However, even a strategy like that has its limits. For example, what will you do when Toxicroak uses Sludge Bomb?"

The red pouch on Toxicroak's throat swelled as he said that, but Ash already knew about that move and he was ready. "Flamethrower!"

Flames rippled from Pyro's maw just as Toxicroak spat the Sludge Bomb, creating an explosive force between the two Pokemon as their attacks collided. They were torn apart and hurled in separate directions, but recovered quickly and faced off again in seconds. Ash blinked as Toxicroak unexpectedly winced, and glanced over the poison type to see if it was injured somewhere. His eyes stopped at a mild burn on its left arm which didn't look too bad, but was obviously causing Toxicroak some discomfort. The wound had probably been caused during the explosion.

Something clicked in his head when he saw how much pain such a small burn was causing their opponent, and the gears turned in Ash's head for a few moments until he came up with an idea. But first, he had to test it out.

Koga's eyebrow quirked up for a second. "You seem to have discovered something, youngster."

Ash didn't reply to him directly. "Flamethrower again!"

Pyro roared as he unleashed a tongue of fire and directed it at Toxicroak, intent on roasting their enemy to a crisp. The poison type immediately leapt away and bolted in an effort to escape the flames, especially when Pyro redirected them. The reaction was different than it had been when Toxicroak had tried to avoid Douse's Mud Shots, and those had been super effective. Whereas Toxicroak had been eager to avoid those attacks, its behavior this time around wasn't the same. If it didn't have such a stoic personality, Ash would dare to say it was afraid of the fire.

It only added to his theory when Koga himself grew a bit more tense, like he wanted the battle to end as quickly as possible. "Dark Pulse."

Black rings slammed into the Flamethrower and generated another explosion as well as a new cloud of smoke, which the ninja immediately took advantage of. "Thunder Leap!"

This time, Toxicroak didn't jump straight to the ceiling, but pushed off with that same incredible force from its lower legs and lunged at Pyro. It erupted through the black smoke as its fist crackled with the lightning of Thunder Punch, ready to deliver serious damage.

It was still a new concept to him, but Ash decided to use one of Koga's own tricks against him. "Bury a Metal Claw in the ground and catch Toxicroak with the other!"

Pyro did as he was told just a second before Toxicroak hit him. His metallic claws left deep furrows in the ground when the impact pushed him backwards, but Ash grinned widely as Thunder Punch dissipated where it met the steel type move. Pyro grinned as well, sharp fangs gleaming while Toxicroak stared in surprise at its own fist caught in the enemy's talons.

Ash saw an opportunity to confirm his theory and he took it. "Fire Fang!"

Toxicroak _howled_ as Pyro's sharp, burning teeth gnashed into its right arm, the same arm that was caught in Metal Claw's grip. The Charmeleon spun on its feet then and used the momentum to lift the poison type off its feet and hurl it away back to Koga's side of the field, where it landed with a harsh thud. Pyro let out a roar, daring Toxicroak to get back up and continue the battle.

It did just that, though. Toxicroak stood back up despite its heavily damaged arm and glared at Pyro with evident rage in its eyes. Pyro merely sneered. All that mattered to him was the knowledge that this opponent could be burned. His flames caused it great pain, and he would deliver that pain again and again until it could no longer fight on.

Ash, meanwhile, was still grinning. "I was right!"

"Explain," Koga requested. "Just what have you realized?"

"You said earlier that Toxicroak's ability was Dry Skin," Ash started while their Pokemon continued to glare at each other. "Part of its ability is being able to absorb water type moves and use them to heal itself, like how dry plants are revitalized after you water them. But dry plants are easy to burn, so that means Toxicroak likewise is weak to fire type moves. Even if its not a grass type, the flames still hurt it a lot."

The ninja's face actually broke into a smile then. "I'm impressed that you managed to discern that information and utilize it in the thick of battle. You even copied one of my own tactics against electric types in the very same battle you saw it in. That you can do those things speaks volumes of your talent, however raw it may be at this time. However, as I'm sure you already know, having an advantage over your opponent by no means guarantees success in battle."

Ash was ready to prove him wrong. "Flamethrower!"

Koga's eyes flashed. "Sucker Punch! Pin it."

Pyro had just inhaled a deep breath to launch his attack when Toxicroak darted forward and delivered a fierce uppercut to the Charmeleon's jaw. The blow forced his mouth shut and caused the Flamethrower to sputter out into a bunch of weak embers. Pyro snarled and slashed at Toxicroak in retaliation, but the poison type caught the blow with its free hand. Then before either Ash or his partner could respond, Toxicroak spun so that it was behind Pyro with his arm twisted at his back.

Toxicroak kicked out one of Pyro's legs then and shoved the fire type into the dirt face-first. Pyro spat and snarled furiously, but the poison type jammed its knee into his back and kept him pinned on the ground, one arm still twisted behind him to prevent the Charmeleon from striking.

"Drain Punch."

Pyro let out a furious roar as Toxicroak punched him in the back, pressing its glowing fist into the red scales. The Charmeleon thrashed to escape, but Toxicroak's grip was firm and there was no escape.

Ash felt his teeth grit together as he watched his starter struggle helplessly against the opponent that they should have had a huge advantage against. Toxicroak had been burned and wounded just moments ago, and now all their hard work was going to waste. There had to be a way out of this! He searched furiously for an escape Pyro could use, but he was coming up with nothing.

"You probably came here under the assumption that my expertise was poison, didn't you?" Koga asked from across the field. "My specialty is poison type Pokemon, and it is true that afflicting enemies with poison is a part of my strategy. However, merely poisoning an opponent does not win a battle. Poison acts slowly. It takes time and patience for its effects to bring a Pokemon down. It isn't realistic to think that an enemy will simply sit and wait for poison to knock out their team. That certainly isn't enough to become a decent trainer or Gym Leader, let alone reach the level of the Elite Four."

"What makes my partners so feared isn't their ability to inflict poison upon enemy Pokemon, but their skill at enhancement and attrition," the ninja explained, ignoring Pyro's furious roars while Toxicroak drained his energy dry. "They can inflict a status condition unto an enemy and then build on that damage as effectively as possible. Venoshock is but one of these moves that they utilize to do this. And should they be injured during combat, I ensure that they have ways of healing their wounds. The more time it takes for our foes to bring us down, the more likely it is that our poison will bring them down first."

"The brute force attacks and simple strategies you fight with are not bad, but you have not used any method to bolster their power or help them recover. Your Pokemon are well trained, yet in the face of an opponent of their own skill level that can heal and deliver damage quickly and efficiently, they are no match at all."

Ash clenched his fist angrily, but he grudgingly respected Koga for developing such an effective battle style. Thinking about it now, it didn't make sense that someone could be a respected and powerful trainer by relying on poison alone. Of course, he didn't expect that to be the only card Koga played, but the depth and well-roundedness of the ninja's team had him completely outmatched.

By now, Pyro's thrashing had nearly ended as Toxicroak drained the last reserves of energy he possessed, and Ash reached for his pokeball with a sinking heart. They would have to train harder, figure out ways to counter Koga's battle style, then return at some point to challenge him again. He had just enlarged the red and white sphere when Pyro's tail flame flared.

It wasn't just a flicker of hotter colors- it was as though someone had poured gasoline all over the flames, causing them to roar into life and expand. The flames grew to consume nearly half of Pyro's tail and roasted Toxicroak's back, causing the poison type to screech and leap off of its opponent.

Pyro stood up shakily, but he steadied as his tail flame flared yet again and changed into a bright blue, raging with heat. The Charmeleon glared at Toxicroak and let out a bellow of fury, baring all of his sharp teeth, claws, and the blue flames that reflected both his wrath and unyielding will.

It had to be Blaze. Ash had never seen Pyro use it before, but it was way more intense than he thought it would be. Everything he'd read about it suggested it was an adrenaline rush for fire types, a last-ditch power boost to let them win a tough battle. This was far more than a burst of adrenaline; he could feel the heat from where he stood, several meters away from his starter. The bright blue fire at Pyro's tail radiated power and anger.

Pyro wasn't ready to give up. He was going to fight until he took his enemy down.

Ash set the pokeball back at his belt and steeled his nerve. This was their last shot. Pyro's Blaze was their final trump card for this fight.

"Mega Punch!" He shouted.

Pyro lunged at Toxicroak, clenching his fist until it glowed bright white. The poison type hadn't retreated that far, so he reached his target in seconds and struck as hard as he could. Toxicroak lifted its arms to defend, and even then the impact sent it skidding backwards.

Koga was back in the fight in a flash. "Poison Jab!"

"Metal Claw!" Ash countered.

The two Pokemon charged and began slashing at each other, attacking and defending in an effort to gain the upper hand. After several seconds of intense blows, Toxicroak leapt straight up and flipped so that it landed behind Pyro, aiming to hit him with Poison Jab from the back. But the Charmeleon was ready and immediately pivoted on his foot so that the raging flame at his tail crashed into the poison type the moment it landed.

Toxicroak howled as its sensitive skin was torched and the force of the tail sweep shoved it back. Pyro continued to spin until he was facing Toxicroak, ready to strike again.

"Flamethrower!"

Ash heard Koga call for a Dark Pulse at the edge of his hearing, but all he could focus on was the jet of blue fire that erupted from Pyro's jaws. The Flamethrower, far beyond any that he had ever seen Pyro use before, slammed into Toxicroak's Dark Pulse and consumed the dark rings, then crashed ruthlessly into the poison type. Koga's Pokemon shrieked as the flames exploded violently upon reaching it.

Smoke blasted over the field from the point of the explosion and Pyro immediately bolted in to pursue Toxicroak. Ash heard a loud impact and then Toxicroak was airborne, having been on the receiving end of another Mega Punch. It flipped and managed to land on its feet just as Pyro came roaring out of the smoke, ready to end the fight.

Toxicroak put its hands up to ready another Dark Pulse, but it was still reeling from Flamethrower and the latest Mega Punch that Pyro had delivered. Had it not drained nearly all of the Charmeleon's energy earlier, it would have already been knocked unconscious. As it was, the pain from the rapid succession of attacks overwhelmed Toxicroak for a crucial instant.

Koga was barking an order to Toxicroak and Ash was borderline screaming for his partner to finish their opponent off when Pyro's tail flame flared again to consume his entire body, bathing his scales in writhing blue. He let out an unearthly roar as he rushed his enemy, closed the distance, (Toxicroak actually looked afraid for a fraction of a second) then made _impact_ -

-an explosion ripped through the field with such force that Ash yelped and threw up an arm to defend himself. A wave of heated air made his skin tingle and hurt his eyes for a few seconds, then faded away. Ash let his arm fall back to his side as he stared at the devastation.

Black scorch marks scarred the pulverized ground around the two Pokemon that lay there, neither of them capable of fighting on. The flame on Pyro's tail had dwindled back to normal size, having used up his last reserves of energy in the fight. He had probably been knocked out by the concussive force of his own attack, but Toxicroak looked terrible. It was covered in burns and Ash was pretty sure it was for the best that the poison type was unconscious. Those had to hurt. But even though Toxicroak had lost, it had won the battle for Koga.

Ash took the pokeball from his belt and recalled Pyro, smiling at the device once his starter was safely contained. "You were amazing. Get some rest, buddy. I'm proud of you."

Janine called the match a victory for Koga as her father returned Toxicroak to its pokeball and approached the boy. He actually looked impressed.

"That was quite a performance at the end. Your Charmeleon's strength is to be admired."

"Thank you," Ash managed. He was a little shocked by the sheer power Pyro had displayed once Blaze had been activated. "I'm sorry if Toxicroak got hurt. I didn't know Pyro could make his flames explode like that."

Koga waved his hand. "Do not concern yourself- Toxicroak will recover. My interest lays in the attack your partner just demonstrated. I believe it was Flare Blitz, albeit one that had no way of directing the explosive force."

"Flare Blitz," Ash repeated to himself.

"It's a powerful move, though I implore you to train intensely with it before using it in combat again," Koga warned. "For all its strength, Flare Blitz causes great damage to the user of the attack. Careless use of it will do more harm than good."

The ninja scratched his chin for a moment. "You are not ready yet to defeat me. Your Pokemon are strong, but power alone is not enough to reach the top. The strongest trainers in the Indigo League will sweep you aside if you only rely on tactics like that. Train harder and delve more into your strategies, then return and challenge me again."

Ash dipped his head. "Yes, sir. Thank you."

Koga cracked a faint smile. "You have talent, boy. Shape it wisely and you'll be a great trainer one day."

That caused the corners of his mouth to twitch up into a grin, even if he had lost the fight. "I will."

* * *

"I'll have your Pokemon ready in no time, Ash," Nurse Joy assured him as she took the tray of pokeballs and carefully passed them to her Chansey.

Ash nodded and retreated to a seat in the cafe to have a drink while his team was healed. It was sinking in that he'd lost. He had lost for the first time against a Gym Leader. If Pyro hadn't come out of the blue with Blaze and the unexpected Flare Blitz, he would have lost spectacularly. Golbat had been difficult enough to take out and Toxicroak had been ridiculously tricky. He had found out about its weakness to fire too late. If Pyro had been released earlier…

He sighed to himself. No. Even if Pyro had been released before Douse, Toxicroak had a whole array of techniques that it could have used to bring him down. There was no point thinking 'what if' anyways now. Ash took a sip of the lemonade he'd gotten and began to rap his fingers on the table as he considered what he would do next. He had a little over a month before it was time to go to Vermillion City and board the St. Anne, and he intended to use all of that time training his team and working on new strategies. After that, he had told Professor Oak he would come back Pallet Town to see his mother and spend some time at home.

Once he got back on the road, Ash decided, he would return to Fuchsia City and challenge Koga. And next time he would win, regardless of the challenges the ninja presented to him.

* * *

 **A/N: I know you're all probably wondering what took me so incredibly long to update, and all I can really say is it's been a mixture of writer's block, depression, anxiety, and a whole myriad of other things that turned into a concoction of essentially my own personal brand of hell, so...yeah. I won't get into that because it's definitely not something you came here for! Ash's fight against Koga really didn't want to work with me the entire time I tried to write it, but I finally got what I think is an acceptable battle out of it. Now, for the review responses to Chapter Ten!**

 **Inheritence1990: I absolutely loved Eevee's POV. I feel like you captured her character perfectly.**

 **-Thanks! I wanted to give the Pokemon more personality than you see in some of the other fan fictions. You'll see similar POV for all of Ash's Pokemon as time goes on.**

 **Oly in Flight: I have to admit, not many can create a competent Ash story without him going into the deep end, aka the area reserved for Mary Sues, or, in his case, a Gary Sue. However, you did a great job giving him knowledge, HAVING a way of explaining it, and him utilizing it. You've most definitely separated this away from the anime, which I definitely like about the story. You're creating your own story, as a fanfic should be, and using canon material in a way that draws me in. I loved the scientific explanations used for each Pokemon, and how they learn moves and evolve.**

 **What really drives it home is the Pokemon and rivals. Leaf is actively part of the story, even if she has just come back in. Gary isn't as insensitive, or, as most fics make him out to be, a complete and utter asshole. He's smart and a bit vulgar, but he doesn't flaunt himself as he does in the anime. Paul is great too, I was definitely surprised he's here too! But, you gived good reason, used the history you already set up to support it, and make him quite the competent trainer. Each rival sets different, yet similar challenges for Ash, which is great for character development! The Pokemon I absolutely adore because of how you make them seem like human characters. They aren't powerhouses yet, but they certainly give a challenge. You gave them traits that challenged their trainer, like Eevee's coldness or Pichu's mischief. But, this really makes Ash's kindness shine through.**

 **As for the latest chapter, it was great! I liked how you fit everything and make it interconnect. I certainly liked how you had Ash challenge someone whom has a similar style to Koga, aka Janine. However, this might lead to his first loss because of the fact Koga is stronger and has different strategies than Janine. The Safari Zone was certainly my favorite part of the chapter, and I got especially excited with Eevee's POV! I liked how she was the one to find the Dratini, especially interesting with the fact that canon Dratini has pink eyes. Perhaps a gentic mutation? I'm curious about the newest Pokemon Ash might capture. He has a great team as it is, though he'll need more to go by. I'm definitely hoping for unique Pokemon that most don't see in a fanfic! Now, I'm going to stop rambling. I probably just snatched the longest review title, no?**

 **-Wow, this really is a long review! It's multiple parts, so I'll do my best to address each section. First, I don't really like the idea of putting Ash and the others in the "deep end" as you so eloquently put it. That works for some people, but it doesn't suit my style of writing. Yeah, these characters will definitely run into rough patches and they'll have some hard days, but they doesn't have to go completely out of their mind in order to move forward. But that's just me. There are some writers out there that make it work.**

 **I wanted to give the rivals and Pokemon a different feel to them. A lot of people use the stereotype versions of these characters (especially Gary and Paul) and that's fine, but I wanted them to be a little different in this story. Finding a way for them to stay in character, yet still hold true to their original personalities was a bit tricky, but I think I've found a healthy balance for them. Their development will become more evident as time goes on and I think they'll turn out great. I wanted to find a similar balance for the Pokemon. They needed personalities that didn't make them feel like pets or humans. There's definitely a balancing act involved in this writing** **that makes it hard sometimes, but its worth it when it finally works out. I can't tell you which Pokemon Ash will capture next, but in regards to Dratini's eye color, it's just a little genetic quirk. Not all people have brown or blue eyes, as is the case with species of animals, so I figured I'd have a little fun with it and give Dratini a different eye color. You could consider it a recessive trait if pink eyes are the dominant color.**

 **Uber Ghidorah:** **It would have been funny for Ash to catch Slowpoke too, but I understand why he didn't. Still, it would have been funny down the road.**

 **-Lol I'm rather fond of Slowpoke's dopey personality. Rest assured, there will be more Slowpoke amusement later in the story!**

 **philly cheese dude: The ending to this was hilarious with Eevee being her diva self, her new friend learning from her, and slowpoke being... Well slow lol. It just for so well and wow! Ash caught a Dratini! Awesome! Now just Scyther and that's a very good haul! But how will it work? That'll be 7 total with him. Will the universe have the option of exceeding the limit or what? Can't wait to find out! Keep it up!**

 **-Eevee does have her diva moments lol. It's a staple of her personality that will show up more as the story progresses and she becomes more comfortable around others. As for how Ash will handle having seven Pokemon...that's something you'll have to keep reading in order to find out!**


	12. Past vs Present

_Chapter Twelve: Past vs Present_

Ash was still sitting at the table in the Pokemon Center's cafe when Leaf returned with Misty from the Fuchsia Gym. He frowned at her crestfallen expression as she approached him. "You lost too?"

"Yeah. Koga's team was just a little too much for me," Leaf admitted ruefully as she took a seat.

Misty nudged the obviously disheartened girl with her elbow, but Leaf only shook her head. The Gym Leader shrugged and shot an apologetic smile at Ash. "I'm sorry your battle didn't go well. I thought you had him for a while, but that Toxicroak was really difficult to beat, wasn't it?"

Ash sighed. "Toxicroak knocked out Sobek and Douse, and it was the reason Pyro ended up losing. I was too careless trying to beat Koga with only power moves. We didn't even make it to his third Pokemon."

"Mind you, he didn't actually use Toxicroak in my battle with him," Leaf told Ash. "Another ninja showed up and took Toxicroak and Golbat away to heal. I had to fight Muk, Weezing, and Beedrill. But jeez, those three were so strong…"

"He fought you with a _Beedrill?"_ He actually gaped. In all his experience, Ash couldn't imagine a Beedrill being an actual threat that a Gym Leader would consider using against challengers. To his team, they were only annoying at worst. Pyro and Sobek had been beating them down since Viridian Forest.

"Hey, that Beedrill was no ordinary Beedrill!" Leaf exclaimed. "It took Onix out with just two hits! Even Saur was defeated by that little monster!"

"You can't be serious."

"She's not kidding, Ash," Misty agreed. "I'm no fan of bug types, and even I'll say that Beedrill was really strong. It's probably even tougher than Toxicroak was. It didn't have the healing moves, but it was still powerful. You might ask Koga about it the next time you challenge him."

Ash thought that he might do that. A Beedrill capable of taking out an _Onix_ with only a couple of attacks? Now _that_ was something he'd have to see to believe.

"So, what are your plans now?" Misty asked the two younger trainers. "Koga's going off again to do work for the League. Janine and I are going to stay here for a couple of weeks so I can help her learn about being a Gym Leader."

"I'm going to stay here for a little while longer," Leaf answered. "I like the idea of training with you and Janine for a bit before I head off to Vermillion City for the St. Anne voyage. Ash?"

Ash had already made up his mind about his next move- he wanted to get back on the road and start training again ASAP. His team needed to get stronger and he wanted to start working on new strategies and techniques for them to incorporate in battle. The last couple of Gym challenges he'd made had resulted in the leaders saying the same things to him; he relied too much on brute force. It was about time he began to fight more intelligently.

"I'm hitting Route 15 and making my way north to Vermillion City," he said. "I want to get there early and do some extra training before the St. Anne gets there."

The fact of the matter was that he still had a little more than a month before the St. Anne was ready to depart, but Ash was in a hurry to get to Vermillion because he desperately wanted to see if Lt. Surge had made any progress with Pikachu. He hadn't even been able to say goodbye to his second partner in Celadon because Pikachu had been unconscious and in an intensive care unit. Surely the electric type was able to see him now…

"Ash?"

He was chased out of his thoughts by a concerned Misty, who seemed to have caught on to his troubled thoughts. Ash quickly put a smile on his face to reassure her. "Sorry, I got carried away thinking about some stuff."

She didn't look convinced by his facade, but accepted that he wasn't going to talk about whatever was on his mind. Instead, she propped her elbows on the table and set her chin on her hands. "So, your Charmeleon learned Flare Blitz in the battle, right? He sure has gotten strong."

Ash's smile became genuine. "Yeah, he really has. I think he might evolve soon. Maybe then we'll finally get Dragon Rush down. He still can't feel dragon type energy that well."

"Still, it's a lot better than it was the last time I saw it," Misty told him. "Remember our gym battle? Back then, it wasn't much more than a Tackle attack, but I saw real improvement in your fight against Koga. You'll figure it out. Maybe Pyro just needs more power to use it perfectly. Evolving might give him that boost."

"I hope so."

Leaf leaned forward across the table with a grin. "You, me, and Gary will have to compare starters after they're all fully evolved. I'm not expecting his turtle to be much trouble for Saur, but _maybe_ your hothead lizard will give us a challenge?"

"You know that Pyro beat Saur the last time they fought."

"That was then," Leaf replied cheerily. "He's a lot stronger now. I think we can take you two down."

"Don't count on it!"

They continued their conversation for hours until it was late afternoon, talking about training, their Pokemon, and their goals before the Indigo League came around. But finally, the three young trainers were simply too tired to keep up the chat and called it a night.

"I'm probably going to leave first thing in the morning," Ash told them. "If you guys plan on sleeping in, I'll probably be gone before you wake up."

Leaf nodded. "That's fine. We can just say goodbye here!"

"Make sure you stop by Cerulean City after the cruise ends," Misty told him. "I'd like to battle you again. I'll use my strong team against you this time! You won't find an easy victory against them."

Ash grinned. "For sure. I'll still beat you!"

"And I guess I'll see you in Vermillion in a month, right?" Leaf asked. "Better get your team ready. I'm not slowing down anytime soon. We'll leave you in the dust if you don't keep up!"

"Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that," he smirked. "If you see Gary before then, you know what to do."

"Wipe the floor with his face?"

"Exactly."

"Will do," she giggled. "Goodbye, Ash. I'll see you soon!"

Ash nodded again, gave both of the girls a high-five, then retreated to his room to get some shut eye. He had to be well-rested for the road ahead and the training that came with it.

* * *

Despite his exhaustion, Ash ended up just lying in bed later that night, replaying the battle with Koga in his mind for hours while combing through the Pokedex for information. His lack of knowledge about Toxicroak had proved to be his undoing. Had he known better, Douse may have been able to defeat it before sending out Pyro became necessary.

It turned out that Toxicroak's ability Dry Skin was a trait its species adapted to take advantage of the water in their swampy habitats. They didn't have _actual_ dry skin- that was just the name of the trait. If a person had dry skin for example, dumping loads of water on them would do more harm than good. Dry Skin the _ability_ was slightly different.

The way it worked was more complicated than Ash had imagined. Dry Skin was an adaptation that caused Toxicroak to have a very thin, hydrophobic layer of skin coating its entire body. If a water type move came into contact with it, the hydrophobic properties would simply repel the water, though force still played a role. Ash had seen that first-hand when Douse's Bubble Beam stopped Toxicroak's rush and pushed it back several feet. But it didn't provide much more protection than that because it was so thin and easy to damage.

The key lay in a _secondary_ layer of skin directly beneath the first. That secondary layer had properties the total opposite of the top one- it was extremely hydrophilic, meaning that it absorbed water. If Toxicroak was injured, the hydrophobic layer of skin would take damage and give way to the hydrophilic layer. If it was hit by a water type move then, the liquid would immediately be absorbed and used to accelerate the natural healing factor Toxicroak possessed. The wounds healed and the thin, hydrophobic layer of skin would be swiftly regenerated, allowing it to shrug off any unneeded water.

It was a brilliant trait, though fragile given how sensitive Toxicroak's skin was as a result of it. The thinness of it made Toxicroak very vulnerable to burns and even intense sunlight, which was why fire type moves did more damage than they normally would. Since Toxicroak wasn't a particularly durable Pokemon to begin with, it made sense that Koga had capitalized on speed and power whilst relying on the healing factors of Dry Skin and moves like Drain Punch. If the poison type took a big hit without the ability to recover, it would have been knocked out of the battle much more quickly.

Ash had played right into Koga's most efficient method of eliminating challengers. Douse had allowed Toxicroak to recover halfway through and then the poison type had healed itself _again_ by pinning Pyro down with Drain Punch. He was only able to finally defeat the thing because Blaze kicked in and allowed him to capitalize on the weakness of Toxicroak's own ability.

He knew better now and next time, it wouldn't be so easy for Koga to sweep his team. Ash briefly wondered however what effect Douse's Scald would have on Toxicroak. The outer layer of Dry Skin may have been hydrophobic, but could it really stand up to the extreme heat it was so vulnerable to? He might have to experiment with that later on. But if he was going to prevent a similar scenario from playing out against future opponents, Ash would have to read more about all of the species the Pokedex had information on.

For now, he planned his next move. Going east was a given at this point since it was the quickest and most direct route back to Vermillion City. But with over a month before the St. Anne's arrival, Ash didn't want to squander his time away in a city. He wanted to take advantage of the wilderness for as long as he could to train. Maybe he would stick close to the coast for a while and help his team become better at fighting water types. Two of his strongest Pokemon were extremely weak to water type moves and it would be useful if they came up with countermeasures against them on the road.

* * *

He told his plan to Professor Oak the next morning before he left Fuchsia.

"Yes, that would be wise," the Professor said. "Water types are some of the most numerous of all Pokemon species. You'll find no shortage of them in future battles, so finding ways to counter them is vital. Just don't overdo things. Resistance training is beneficial, but doing so too much can cause more harm than good."

"I'll do my best," Ash replied. He didn't actually want Oak to tell him how to go about doing just that. One of the fundamentals of training was figuring things out for yourself. In Ash's way of thinking, it took all the fun and creativity out of training if you were told exactly how to do something right from the get-go. The reason he asked for Oak's opinion was to make sure he wasn't going to make any bonehead mistakes that could get his team injured or worse.

Oak offered a smile. "I am sorry your battle with Koga didn't go as you planned, Ash. But this will not be your last defeat. There exist many trainers as talented as Koga- some are even more so. If you want to climb to the top, learn all you can from this loss and use it to better your team and yourself."

He nodded slightly. "I know. I just wasn't expecting Toxicroak to come out of nowhere and steamroll my Pokemon."

A chuckle then. "Koga is well-known for utilizing the element of surprise to great effect. You are not the first challenger to fall prey to him and you certainly shall not be the last one. But Toxicroak does have weaknesses- as do all his Pokemon. The trick is learning how to spot them and then exploiting them in battle. You managed to do that in your battle, did you not?"

He had. It had taken him so long that by the time he'd figured it out, the battle had been lost, but he had identified Toxicroak's weakness and took advantage of it to great effect.

"You are learning. That is the key. Learn and grow with your Pokemon. That will bring you one step closer to your dreams."

Ash smiled wryly. "Y'know, Gary won't be happy if he finds out you tell me all this stuff."

"On the contrary, he'd be disappointed if I didn't," Oak snorted. "I tell him much the same, as well as Leaf. He'd complain about unfair advantages if I didn't keep the three of you in the loop. Honestly, that child drives me up the wall sometimes, but his heart is in the right place."

"Are you sure you're still talking about Gary?" He grinned. "That sounds like all three of us."

Oak burst into laughter then. "The three of you are a bunch of troublesome misfits, aren't you?"

"Just a bit."

"Is that my little misfit I hear?"

Ash's grin widened when his mother appeared in the screen beside Professor Oak. She looked a little tired, but was as full of life and cheer as ever. No doubt she'd been hard at work in Oak's lab, working with the breeding pairs of Pokemon.

"Hey mom!"

"Hi there, sweetie!" Delia exclaimed. Professor Oak headed out of view to give them some privacy (that or he was as busy as ever and had work to do). "How are you?"

"Great. I'm about to leave Fuchsia City. I'm going to go east along the coast for a bit before I go back to Vermillion."

"You've already made it all the way to Fuchsia…wow. I'm so proud of you, Ashy," she said. "How are your Pokemon doing? Is little Pyro being good?"

Ash smirked. "He's doing just fine, though he's not so little anymore."

"I was there at his hatching. He'll always be little to me! Just like you!"

"I'll make sure to tell him that."

Delia smiled. "You know I can't wait to meet the rest of your Pokemon, right? I've gotten to see a few of them from the video chat, but it's not the same. I need to thank them for watching out for my baby boy."

He colored slightly. "I'm not a baby anymore."

"Of course not, O great Pokemon Master," she laughed teasingly. Delia was quiet for a few moments before letting out a small sigh. "I do miss you, sweetheart."

"I know," he replied. "I miss you, too."

"Be careful on the road, and let me know when you reach Vermillion City. I expect a phone call the very day you get there!"

"Yes ma'am."

Delia smiled at her son. "Okay. Do your best, Ash! I'm rooting for you!"

Ash grinned back. "I will."

He made to end the call when he heard Professor Oak call his name again and hurry back on-screen. "Actually Ash, could I ask you to do me a big favor?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"You intend to head towards Vermillion City now, right?" At Ash's nod, the Professor went on. "On the way there, would it be possible for you to stop at a laboratory of mine? I have a reserve in place there that's under construction for exotic Pokemon species. The owner of the Safari Zone is currently overseeing it, but he contacted me earlier and asked if I could find a trainer to help keep the residents there… _distracted_ while the construction is finished."

Ash frowned. Babysitting didn't sound all that entertaining to him. The thought of exotic Pokemon got him interested though, and it was a request from the Professor…

Oak was quick to reassure him. "It would be worth your while. The Pokemon species residing in that lab are incredibly rare. Simply seeing them is quite a treat for any trainer."

It was still an odd request, but Ash gave in. Oak had piqued his interest enough to at least check it out. Besides, the Professor wasn't one to exaggerate and if he said that the Pokemon there were worth the detour, then Ash was more than willing to go and check it out.

"Alright. I'll do it."

Oak smiled. "Thank you, my boy. That's quite a load off my back. I'll message you the coordinates on your PokeNav. It's not that far away, but try to make it there in four days at the latest. They really do need help keeping some of their more unruly Pokemon in check."

The video call ended then. Ash left the phone booth and headed for the front desk of the Pokemon Center, where Nurse Joy was waiting as usual. She had kept both his and Leaf's Pokemon overnight to ensure that they healed properly from the battle against Koga's poisonous team, but as expected, she delivered them with no problems left unresolved.

"Your Pokemon have been fully healed, Ash," Joy told him as she handed the boy his three pokeballs. "Good as new and ready to work hard again!"

"Thank you," he told her gratefully. "I'll make sure we're ready for Koga next time."

"Do your best. We hope to see you again!"

Ash nodded and returned the room key he had rented out while staying in Fuchsia, then made his way to the front entrance. He had a job to take care of from the Professor. There was no point wasting time.

* * *

He was halfway through the day when Professor Oak sent him the coordinates for his other lab along with a brief apology for the delay. Ash could only assume that the man had been distracted again by work or something urgent had come up, but it wasn't like he had to change his direction of travel that much. The lab was, as the Professor had told him, just a few day's walk from his current location and lay on the southeastern corner of Route 15.

Ash didn't even have to change course once he got the message. Route 15 was pretty straightforward and didn't have much in the way of obstacles. It was mostly forest with patches of plain and the seaside not far off towards the south. The wild Pokemon were docile enough, but since the area was rich in food, it wasn't all that surprising.

He let most of his team out to walk with him while they travelled. Eevee was a regular for this, but Ash had been thinking about how much time he got to spend with the rest of his Pokemon. Aside from battles, training, meal time, and sleeping, they hadn't been able to just be together very much lately. He wanted to correct that immediately. Spending all that time with Eevee in Fuchsia had opened his eyes a little bit.

Pyro was at his side, looking stern and mature, but Ash could see his tail twitching now and again with excitement. The normally aggressive fire type rather enjoyed being outside with his trainer even if they weren't fighting something. He was constantly sniffing the air, checking for scents, listening for sounds, and scanning every inch of the area with sharp eyes. Ash doubted that anything would be able to sneak up on them while his starter was in curiosity mode.

Slightly behind him was Douse, who simply did his best to keep pace with the rest of them on his shorter, stubbier legs. Ash was happy that he was able to keep up and figured that walking at his usual pace would be good exercise for the water type. It certainly wouldn't cause any harm for his health.

Eevee, as usual, was padding alongside Ash opposite Pyro, though she didn't appear to be nearly as interested in their surroundings as her flaming teammate. Her ears would twitch now and again from loud sounds in the woods, but Ash was pretty sure she was simply annoyed by them. If something actually tried to attack them, he was pretty sure they would find themselves face-to-face with a very irritated Eevee and an equally nasty Shadow Ball.

Jasmine had opted not to travel outside for now. She was still rather skittish and got too nervous after the first twenty minutes of traveling. Plus Ash was pretty sure that her currently soft scales didn't mesh well with the rough terrain and so recalled her when she expressed discomfort, assuring the dragon type that he would release her again when it was time for lunch.

Most amusing of the group were Sobek and Spectre, whom were playing a rather one-sided game of cat and mouse.

Spectre had been feeling especially ornery today and got to pranking immediately after they were released by stealing Ash's hat and placing the item on Sobek's face so that his eyes were covered. That had been just the beginning of the mischief once they actually started to travel again.

The first prank was followed soon after by an effective scare when the ghost popped out of a large stone that Sobek had taken a moment to inspect on the road. Sobek had been so startled that he fell back and smacked his head on the ground. While Spectre cackled with delight, his Krokorok teammate lunged and tried to bite him, but only succeeded in biting the stone into pieces when Spectre easily floated away.

That prank was followed by another, and another, until at last, Sobek had had enough and took to chasing Spectre around in an effort to claim vengeance upon the incredibly mischievous Duskull.

Ash just smirked as Sobek jumped into the air and tried to bite Spectre again, only for the ghost to simply float up a little more and easily evade him. Spectre cackled again and Sobek snarled, tail thrashing while his fangs were bared. He looked pretty mad, but Ash knew him well enough to tell that he was more annoyed than anything. The Krokorok's true rage was far more intimidating. This was mere irritation rather than full-blown anger.

It was also quite entertaining for Ash, his team, and the nearby wild Pokemon to observe.

Sobek snarled something again as Spectre floated down quickly to tap his snout, causing Eevee's ears to twitch and her eyes to roll. Ash grinned. He was pretty sure that whatever Sobek had said wasn't appropriate, but it was still funny even if he didn't understand exactly what it meant.

"They seem to be having fun," he commented.

Eevee jerked her head up to give him a dry look and Ash could only laugh. No doubt she was silently warning him not to encourage the two rambunctious Pokemon. It would probably give her a headache if he did. Not to mention she would find a way to get back at Ash for doing such a thing.

Pyro merely snorted a small jet of flame, seemingly amused by the pair. He was trying to act like a proper leader for the rest of the team, (he was Ash's first Pokemon after all) but it was hard to focus on doing that while the rest of his friends were having fun. If Sobek couldn't catch Spectre on his own, maybe he needed some help? Thinking about it a little more, he was pretty sure the croc would only get pissed off if he attempted to help capture the unruly ghost type. Sobek was prideful like that.

Besides, he was starting to get hungry.

* * *

Lunch was a relatively simple affair, as usual. Ash released Jasmine again now that they were settled down and the small dragon immediately found her place beside Eevee in the shade of a tree. The two females got along swimmingly with their more mature personalities, as opposed to the boys of the group.

Ash could only roll his eyes and smile as Pyro and Sobek got into an arm wrestling match, the prize of which he assumed was who got their lunch first. It was funny to watch as the pair of reptiles lay flat on their stomachs, joined claws, then waited until Douse made a quick grunt to start the match. The pair strained against each other, fangs bared and muscles bulging with the effort, but the match was decided quickly when Pyro slammed Sobek's arm against the ground with a roar of triumph. Sobek hissed with annoyance and gave in, retreating a bit to nurse his pride.

He felt a bit of sympathy for the ground type; Sobek didn't have any attacks that specifically relied on his arms, but Pyro had several techniques that utilized his arms and claws. Ash suddenly felt like he might have been wasting Sobek's potential by not teaching him any new moves to capitalize on his upper limbs. He may as well have been a Sandile again since he rarely used them in combat. The boy made a mental note to change that and look up some new attacks for Sobek in the Pokedex.

"Alright you guys, lunch is ready!"

His team made a small cacophony of noise to signal their eagerness and lined up for their meal. Ash gave each of them the usual can of Pokemon food (it wasn't like he could make much else on the road) and added a couple of Oran berries he had found on the road. They were a nutritious and tasty treat that most Pokemon enjoyed, so he got them whenever he could to add a little variation to their diet.

As they ate, he took the chance to go through his Pokedex again and run through what he wanted to teach his team while they were on the road. There was a lot to do, especially if he wanted to have any chance of winning against his rivals in the battles on the St. Anne next month. First and foremost, he went over all of the moves that his team knew, which was easy to recite since he kept a list of them all on his PokeNav. He had most of them memorized by heart, but there was always a chance he might accidentally forget about one of them.

Pyro knew Flamethrower, Metal Claw, Fire Fang, Dragon Rush, Slash, Smokescreen, Dragon Dance, Brick Break, Mega Punch, and the recently learned Flare Blitz. He would, as usual, continue working on Dragon Rush, but it wasn't a huge priority at the moment. Ash wanted to add a bit more variation to his starter's move set. He had yet to master Fire Spin since they started practicing for it on Route 16, so that was something to work on. Dragon Dance was another move he wanted to work on, but since Pyro had so much trouble feeling dragon type energy at the moment, Ash decided that their efforts could be focused on other techniques for the time being. Pyro was lacking in defensive moves at this stage, so perhaps he needed to look into that.

Sobek's move set consisted of Crunch, Dig, Sand Tomb, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Assurance, Foul Play, Stone Edge, Incinerate, and Earthquake (the last of which was still a work in progress). Ash mentally smacked himself for not realizing sooner that literally _every_ _single_ _one_ of Sobek's moves was solely for attacking purposes. He had no means of boosting his strength (with the exception of Moxie, but that was not something Ash wanted to rely on unless he had to) or defending himself. He scratched off his plans for trying to teach Sobek another offensive move and latched onto the concept of enhancement and defense.

Eevee knew Quick Attack, Shadow Ball, Swift, Bite, Refresh, Helping Hand, and Iron Tail. Her move set was one of the smallest in Ash's team and he really did need to expand on it, but the trouble was that until she evolved, the range of moves she could learn was limited. He decided that her focus for now would be increasing her battle strength and experience, as well as opting for some evasion moves to give her an edge. Eevee wasn't his most durable fighter, but she could a punch when she needed to. If making her a little harder to hit could present her with an opening to attack, Ash was more than happy to practice those tactics with her.

Douse's moves were Bubble Beam, Hypnosis, Mega Punch, Wake-Up Slap, Mud Shot, Scald, Ice Beam, and Body Slam. His problem was much the same as Sobek's- with the exception of Hypnosis, he didn't have any moves to defend himself or boost his power. They were still at a dead end as far as learning Hydro Pump went, though Ash was certain Douse could pull it off with enough training. He figured that for now, Douse could work with Eevee on evasion and practice defensive moves with Pyro and Sobek. There weren't any specific techniques he could find that were really necessary for Douse to learn right now, at least not while he was trying to master Hydro Pump.

Spectre's move set was the opposite of his team's majority- he was limited in techniques, but only half of them were actually attacking moves. He knew Protect, Confuse Ray, Shadow Sneak, Astonish, Disable, and Shadow Ball. He was really the only defensive fighter Ash had on his team right now and one that relied almost solely on battles of attrition. The ghost needed more techniques to cause damage against his opponents as well as improving his power. However, Ash wasn't blind to the fact that Spectre's greatest strength was his incredible defense and stamina. He knew better than to not capitalize on that, so he decided to split Spectre's training between offensive and defensive moves. They would try learning Will-O-Wisp to start, then Ash wanted to teach Spectre how to use the deadly Hex attack. He had no idea how to do that, but surely they would find a way.

Last but certainly not least was Jasmine, with whom Ash needed to work the most. Her moves were the same as when he had first scanned her in Fuchsia; Wrap, Thunder Wave, Slam, Dragon Rage, Agility, Safeguard, Aqua Tail, and Dragon Tail. She was actually quite well-balanced despite having never trained before, but Ash felt like she needed some more long range moves in case her opponent was more physically adept than she was. He had no idea how powerful Jasmine was in the first place, something that he needed to investigate as soon as her scales hardened. For now though, he would try to teach her ranged attacks. Flamethrower and Ice Beam were both possibilities that he discovered in the Pokedex, especially if he had Pyro and Douse teach her. That would give them a chance to bond with each other as well.

Ash also made an effort to do a little extra digging into Pikachu's moves. Although he knew that the electric mouse was nowhere near done with his rehabilitation, he wanted to make sure that he had a plan for Pikachu's training when he got back so that they could get him back into shape as soon as possible. His friend was down for now, but he certainly wasn't out of Ash's mind.

Pikachu knew Thunderbolt, Volt Tackle, Quick Attack, Iron Tail, Nuzzle, Thunder Wave, Agility, and Electro Ball. He definitely needed more evasion and defensive techniques, so Ash made a note in his PokeNav's training logs to teach the electric type how to use techniques like Double Team and Light Screen. Of course, they would need more offensive moves as well. He considered a few in the Pokedex for a bit before deciding on Discharge and maybe Dig to start off with. There would be time to learn other moves if they managed to get all of those mastered before the Indigo League.

That was the dream, anyways. Ash could only hope for now that it would one day become a reality.

* * *

"Watch carefully, Jasmine," Ash instructed the Dratini as she coiled up beside him to watch Pyro glare at a stone that Sobek had casually protruded from the ground when they started their training. The small dragon trilled and stared at her fire type team mate intently.

His team was busy with their first round of training since leaving Fuchsia City. Ash had Sobek working on evading Spectre's attacks (ironic, he realized with a smirk, seeing as Spectre had been evading Sobek all morning after pulling his pranks) while the ghost tried to speed up his moves and improve his accuracy on a moving target. Eevee was working with Douse to boost their raw power. She was trying to improve her other moves seeing as Shadow Ball was basically a calling card of hers. The goal was to make the rest of her attacks have the same impact as her specialty move. Douse was simply blasting inordinate volumes of water as he tried to master Hydro Pump, although the only thing he managed to do with all of that liquid was make the nearby plants very happy.

Ash and Jasmine watched Pyro suck in a deep breath, then exhale a jet of flame from his jaws in the form of a perfect Flamethrower. The blast of fire smote its target cleanly, turning the stone cherry red for a few seconds until it cooled with a hiss of heat. Pyro snorted, obviously pleased with himself, and turned to Jasmine to growl a few bits of information to her. She listened attentively to his every word and seemed to be impressed with Pyro's power.

He hadn't seen Jasmine's other moves yet simply because her scales were still soft from her recent shed prior to joining them. A lot of her current moves relied on physical power, and Ash didn't want to risk Jasmine hurting herself while her body was so vulnerable. He was sure that there were ways to avoid doing that and still see her attacks, but he only had to wait a little while longer before her scales toughened again and she could fight for real. He could be patient- besides, it was easier to wait if he had her training to use moves that would risk damaging her body.

Jasmine slithered forward to Pyro's side and eyed the target rock for a few moments. She reared her head back and sucked in a breath, then exhaled in an imitation of her team mate. The result was a small flame which shot out of her mouth and fizzled out about halfway to the stone.

The Dratini actually pouted at her failure and Ash had to make a legitimate effort to keep himself from cracking a huge smile. Never in his life did he think he would see a dragon _pout_ like a child because she couldn't breathe fire.

Pyro seemed amused as well, but he was more focused on the training and grunted a few things before stepping up again to repeat the technique, blasting their target once more with his intense flame. Jasmine watched him with narrowed, determined eyes. It seemed she was eager to redeem herself and get the move down.

The way Pyro was instructing her made Ash realize something; his Charmeleon's teaching was very similar to Cynthia's Garchomp. Demonstrate, explain, correct, and repeat until the move was perfected to his satisfaction. Only in this instance, Pyro was the master and Jasmine was the student. Ash kind of hoped that Pyro hadn't inherited his short-term teacher's ruthless training style, but considering how stubborn his first partner was…

Well, at least Jasmine would get into shape faster.

He watched as the Dratini's next attempt at Flamethrower was a little bit better and smiled. Ash always liked to see progress physically manifest before his eyes.

* * *

Three days after leaving Fuchsia City and the evening before they would arrive at Professor Oak's other laboratory, Ash's training session with his team was interrupted as Jasmine slithered over and prodded his arm with her large, white nose. He blinked at the small dragon curiously. "What's up, girl?"

She nudged him again urgently, so Ash raised his hand and set it on her head. His eyes widened as he realized that her scales no longer felt like smooth silk, but tougher and firmer. Her body had finally returned back to normal after shedding a few days prior.

He grinned. "So, are you ready for a real battle?"

Jasmine trilled enthusiastically as the tip of her tail twitched. Ash liked how eager she was to jump into training now that she wasn't at risk of being badly injured. He glanced around at his other team members and called them all in. "Everyone, stop what you're doing for a bit! We're going to have a training battle!"

His call got the attention of every single one of his Pokemon instantly. They glanced from Ash to Jasmine and put two and two together quickly, then rushed on over to their trainer. Ash waited until they were all settled around him before facing Sobek. "Okay buddy, we're going to do some target practice first to see what Jasmine can do. Do you mind?"

Sobek bared his fangs eagerly and then slammed his fist into the ground, causing a spire of rock to erupt upwards. Ash wanted to see what Jasmine was capable of before he decided which member of his team to pit her against. The Dratini slithered forward once she had a target and faced the stone with confidence glowing in her eyes.

"Jasmine, give it everything you've got," Ash clenched his fist, feeling his blood pump as he prepared himself to see what she was capable of. "Let's start off with this. Flamethrower!"

She had been practicing with Pyro religiously to learn this move. It still wasn't perfect, but Jasmine was definitely a quick learner and as expected, a blast of flame from her mouth smote the rock cleanly, leaving a scorch mark. Ash figured it was a good way to get her warmed up by starting with a move that she'd been practicing for the last few days. Plus it gave him a moment to mentally recall all of her other attacks.

"Now Dragon Rage!"

Jasmine reared back and produced a sphere of intense blue energy in her mouth, then fired the Dragon Rage at the target with impressive accuracy. Ash was surprised when it exploded rather violently upon hitting the stone, taking a large chunk out of it. Dragon Rage wasn't considered to be an especially powerful dragon type attack, but he was pretty sure nothing would like to be hit by _that_.

"Good girl!" He praised her, causing the Dratini to trill proudly. The rest of his team was watching Jasmine with great interest, particularly Eevee and Sobek. Ash assumed Eevee was impressed by the strength of her closest friend, but the only reason he could think of for Sobek's interest was because the dark type wanted to fight Jasmine after this.

He was actually considering that after seeing Jasmine's power. But there was still more attacks to test out. "Slam!"

Jasmine's tail coiled beneath her, then she lunged upwards into the air using her bunched-up muscles like a spring. She went into a swift forward flip and smashed her tail into the target, delivering a fierce blow upon the rock which cracked it down to the base. Her landing was a bit messy, but she recovered pretty quickly and was ready when Ash gave another order. "Aqua Tail!"

This time, she took a little bit longer than he would have liked. Jasmine tensed up and it took her a few seconds to generate the right amount of liquid water around her tail before she attacked again by swiping sideways at the stone. It was evident to him that Aqua Tail was a new move for her like Flamethrower, but at least she could perform it correctly. He had confidence that she could master it without much trouble.

The next move was one Ash had been eagerly waiting to see ever since he found out she could use it. "Dragon Tail!"

Jasmine's long tail glowed a sharp, lustrous emerald color immediately, forming much more quickly than her Aqua Tail. She darted forward and swiped at the target in another sideways motion, but this time the blow was powerful enough to smash the damaged rock clean in half. An explosion of rubble flew into the air and scattered across their training ground, much to Ash and Jasmine's delight.

"That was great, Jasmine!" Ash exclaimed. Eevee made a happy chitter for her friend while the rest of their team made impressed sounds. They weren't doubting her capabilities now. Not that they had before, but now that they knew what she was capable of, his Pokemon seemed more accepting and understanding of Jasmine.

The Dratini basked in her pride for a few moments, pleased that her trainer and teammates approved of her strength. It was a brief respite though, because Sobek let out a challenging growl a few moments later.

Ash knew that Sobek really wanted to have a fight with her now. His eyes were gleaming eagerly after witnessing Jasmine's power. He wanted to be the one to face her in the mock battle. And now that Ash had seen Jasmine's strength, he was willing to let Sobek take that role.

"Jasmine, Sobek, you're up. You two are going to battle now."

Sobek hissed with barely restrained delight as he practically skipped forward to face the dragon type. Jasmine's tail twitched in response and she coiled herself up, ready to do battle against her teammate. Ash really wasn't sure what to expect here. Sobek had more raw power than Jasmine, but the Dratini seemed to be the cautious type. If she could evade his massive attacks and get in a few of those clean, powerful blows, then she might be capable of beating him.

There was only one way to find out.

"Begin!"

Sobek instantly smashed his fist into the ground, launching a line of pointed stone blades at his opponent. Jasmine quickly darted around the Stone Edge and exhaled a Flamethrower to retaliate, which Sobek met with an Incinerate attack. The two fire type moves collided and exploded in a burst of black smoke, covering the field for a few moments.

Ash glanced at Douse for a moment. "If they light anything on fire, can you put it out?"

The Poliwhirl beat a fist against his round body in affirmation, then returned his focus to the battle. Sobek had lunged through the cloud of smoke with his jaws wide open, ready to snap into Jasmine's body. She was waiting for him to approach, her serpentine form coiled up and ready to spring.

Once Sobek was close enough, she lunged to the side and evaded his snapping jaws, then spun quickly and crashed her tail into the back of his head with a Slam attack. Sobek snarled and responded by digging underground. Ash's eyebrow twitched at that. He didn't really want Sobek to use Ant Lion if he could help it. The move was a trap for anything that could fly or jump out of the pit, and it would kind of defeat the purpose of seeing what Jasmine was capable of in a straight fight without tricky moves.

But Sobek apparently thought the same way, because instead of creating a sand pit, he darted out of the ground and slashed at Jasmine with his claws. She managed to narrowly avoid a direct hit by quickly rearing back, but Sobek still scored a glancing blow to her snout. Jasmine quickly retreated a few meters and then coiled up, her eyes narrowed while Sobek prepared to lunge again. Ash blinked as a faint, pale aura began to emanate off of Jasmine's scales.

Once again, she didn't move until Sobek was almost right on top of her with his mouth agape, but there was no dodging this time. In a blur of speed that Ash almost missed, Jasmine's tail glowed bright green and then slammed into Sobek's jaw, lifting him into the air and hurling him in the opposite direction. The Krokorok hit the ground roughly with a roar of surprise.

Ash realized that Jasmine had used Agility to speed her Dragon Tail up. The pale energy he'd seen glowing off her scales had to be that- she'd stayed put to trick Sobek into getting close again, then delivered a nasty surprise that he'd had no chance of anticipating. He was impressed she had the insight to pull that off, because he certainly hadn't taught her that one.

Sobek got back to his feet with a snarl and glared at Jasmine, who merely watched him with care. She was a different kind of opponent than he was used to facing, Ash reflected. Sobek was used to fighting enemies who were just as eager to throw down as he was and would immediately launch into a direct attack. Jasmine was not that kind of Pokemon- she was patient, calculating, and a natural tactician. She knew Sobek had more raw power than her in close quarters, so she kept away from him and used his aggressive combat style against him.

She would not be goaded into an up-close fight that she was bound to lose.

But that didn't mean Sobek was going to make it easy for her.

It was true that he wasn't used to fighting an opponent like Jasmine and that his talent lied in close combat, but Sobek had ways of being crafty when his preferred method of fighting wasn't cutting it. He didn't want to use Ant Lion because that was a trump card of his- there was no point in using it in a sparring match. That would take the fun out of the battle. He was fighting to see what Jasmine was capable of, so if she wanted to fight tricky, then he would give her tricky right back.

Sobek smashed his fist into the ground and generated another line of Stone Edge, which Jasmine easily avoided once again. She launched a Dragon Rage attack at him this time, but Sobek forced a rock up in between them to shield himself from the blast. As Jasmine darted around the barrier to hit him with another long range move, the Krokorok dove underground again, forcing her to watch the terrain warily.

The onlookers jumped as a blade of stone punched out of the ground and sent Jasmine flying with a pained cry of surprise. Sobek had launched the attack from beneath the field.

Jasmine hit the ground hard and winced visibly from the impact, but there was no time to rest. Sobek immediately lunged out of the earth near the spot where she'd landed and rushed her with fangs and claws at the ready. The Dratini's body glowed with the pale light of Agility and she darted around her opponent's charge quickly. Her tail shone bright emerald as Jasmine aimed a Dragon Tail at the back of Sobek's head, but the croc spun around while his claws turned jet black and Ash suddenly knew what was going to happen.

Dragon Tail met Foul Play and was immediately redirected back to Jasmine, who was battered with the force of her own attack. The blow left her momentarily stunned, but it was enough time for Sobek to deliver a fierce Assurance on the weakened Dratini.

She collapsed from the damage and tried to lift her head back up, but Sobek pinned her down with his claws and growled, just daring her to continue. Ash thought for a moment that she might try to go on, but Jasmine conceded by letting her head fall back down again with a low trill.

Sobek let her up and grinned toothily, pleased by his victory, but also rather impressed with Jasmine's cleverness. She had made him play for keeps, and there was no shame in that. He looked up at Ash and was happy to see his trainer's approval.

"Great work, both of you," Ash called as he approached his two Pokemon. Jasmine looked a disappointed until Eevee padded over and chittered something to her, which apparently made the small dragon feel a little better. Ash scratched Jasmine's scales behind her ears and smiled at her. "You did really well, girl. Sobek is one of the strongest Pokemon on the team. It's not easy to beat him, but you pushed him to his limit."

Sobek grunted agreement and Jasmine's dampened spirits rose again. She had been beaten, but her trainer and her team were still proud of her for doing so well. Now she could work on improving herself until she could defeat Sobek and the others. Jasmine had no doubt that the rest of her new team were just as powerful as the ground type.

Ash offered her and Sobek an Oran berry as a reward and then patted the Krokorok's head. "I'm proud that you kept yourself under control. Thanks for not taking things too far, buddy."

Sobek nodded. He really had been trying to prevent a repeat of the incident with Leaf's Pokemon by controlling his anger and this was the first time he'd kept himself completely under control. Mind you, he hadn't had the chance to activate Moxie because he didn't knock Jasmine out, but he felt proud that he could keep a level head without fighting under Ash's direct guidance. If he could manage that with Moxie in the future…

"Okay everyone," Ash got their attention once more. "Let's do twenty more minutes of training, then we're calling it a night. We've got work to do tomorrow at Professor Oak's lab."

* * *

Ash stared at the absolutely _huge_ laboratory building ahead of him, which looked almost like a gym with an enormous glass dome encompassing the back. How the heck was it that he hadn't even seen that thing until he was right on top of it? The surrounding vegetation blended so well that he'd only realized he was close when he came to a set of armored gates with an electronic lock. He wondered why Professor Oak didn't work here regularly because this lab was far larger than his HQ in Pallet Town.

He approached the gates and pressed a button above which was a sign that stated "press for entry." A speaker box next to it beeped a moment later and a female voice spoke out of it. "Welcome to the South Kanto Oak Lab. How can I help you?"

"Professor Oak sent me here," Ash answered. "He told me that the lab needed help from a trainer?"

"Ah, yes! Just a moment, please. We'll send someone to the front gate to pick you up."

The speaker cut off then, so Ash stayed put and patiently waited for the lab personnel to come and get him. He only had to wait for a few minutes before he was met by an older man donning a worker's uniform and a young, brown-haired woman in a pure white lab coat walking down a dirt path from the laboratory, the latter of which he recognized instantly from home.

"Daisy?" Ash exclaimed in surprise.

Daisy Oak's eyes widened. "Ash? Is that you?! Holy cow, you look like a real trainer! I didn't think grandpa would send you!"

"I was in the area, so he asked if I could come," he replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Grandpa's letting me intern here for a while so I can complete a study on rare Pokemon species," she explained. "I've been wanting to get a degree in this field for years!"

Ash digested that bit of information pretty easily. Daisy had never been a huge fan of Pokemon battles like himself or Gary. Rather, she liked to study Pokemon just as her grandfather did- though that didn't mean she was harmless. She was colorful and cheery, not to mention smart as a whip and capable of putting even her unruly little brother in his place. Gary had once told Ash that Daisy was the only girl (aside from Ash's mother when she was angry) that he legitimately feared. She might not have been an avid Pokemon trainer, but she was perfectly capable of frightening himself and Gary with a few choice words and her infamous death glare.

One did not simply receive Daisy Oak's death glare and live to tell of it without consequences.

She glanced at the man who was beside her. "I should introduce you. This is Mr. Baoba! He's the owner of the Safari Zone in Fuchsia and the man in charge of the landscaping project here. Mr. Baoba, this is Ash Ketchum. He's a trainer from Pallet Town and one of my grandpa's protégés."

"Pleasure to meet you, young man," Baoba said in a deep, but cheerful voice. He typed in a code of some kind on the other side of the gate and jerked his thumb over his shoulder in a gesture to the laboratory as the massive doors opened up. "Please come inside. We've got a lot to talk about."

Ash nodded, but he was still curious about the lab. "If you don't mind me asking, why all the security? Professor Oak's lab in Pallet Town is nothing like this one."

"Grandpa's lab at home is actually pretty well-guarded," Daisy corrected him, causing Ash to blink in surprise. She smiled dangerously. "It doesn't have the tech, but surely you haven't forgotten about grandpa's original Pokemon team, right?"

That actually made a lot of sense when Ash thought about it. It was true insofar that the lab in Pallet Town wasn't heavily fortified, but Samuel Oak had a small team of absolute _monsters_ that were perfectly capable of defending the land and its inhabitants. Ash would hardly forget about Oak's beast of a Charizard, his legendary Dragonite, or the Alakazam which prevented anyone with malicious intent from getting anywhere near the labs with its psychic powers. And that was just a few of the so-called "Pallet Town Guardians" Professor Oak had trained himself in his younger days.

The Pallet Town lab might not be a fortress, but it didn't need to be with firepower like that backing it.

"And to answer your question regarding the security," Daisy continued, jarring him from his thoughts. "This lab doesn't have grandpa's Alakazam running psychic scans over the area, so we need a physical barrier instead to protect the Pokemon living here from poachers and the like. It's also off the grid for the most part because we keep some very special Pokemon here."

Baoba opened up the door to the lab as they reached the massive building and let them inside. Once the door was closed, the older man cleared his throat and began to speak as he led Ash and Daisy down a long hall and further into the immaculately clean lab. "Samuel called me in to make the habitat for the residents more natural. Have you been to the Safari Zone I own in Fuchsia?"

"Yes. I actually caught my Dratini there," Ash replied with a grin.

"My goodness, you are quite the lucky one! Well if you've been there before, then that makes my explanation a little easier. You're aware that there were many different biomes in the Safari Zone, yes?" At Ash's nod, Baoba went on. "You see, most of the biomes in the Safari Zone were created by myself and my employees from the League in order to construct a natural environment that many different species of Pokemon could live in. Swamps, forests, rivers, mountains, plains…we've successfully constructed almost every type of landscape you can imagine. Part of our job, which is maintaining the ecosystem and rebuilding damaged areas of the environment in which Pokemon reside, depends on this."

"That is why Samuel wanted my help here, and even then this has been quite the challenge for us. These particular Pokemon are incredibly rare and much of the environment they prefer to reside in is largely unknown. This experience is a learning curve even for myself and Professor Oak."

They came into the large dome he had seen from the front of the building. To his surprise, the whole area was an enormous indoor greenhouse with trees, shrubs, rocks, and even a small stream. Ash had a sense of burning curiosity in him now. "What kind of Pokemon are we talking about here?"

Daisy smiled widely. "Come over here and take a look."

She led him to the stream and knelt down, scanning the water carefully for a few moments before she grinned and reached in. Ash crouched beside her and watched as she pulled out a small, dome-shaped brown shell with two black spots on the top of it. He frowned at how plain it looked. "Um…what is it?"

The young woman grinned mischievously and quickly held it up so that he was looking at the underside of the shell, and suddenly Ash was face-to-face with two glowing red eyes and four hooked, wriggling claws while the Pokemon made a loud, displeased shriek.

He let out a shriek of his own and stumbled back, landing flat on his butt in the stream. Daisy Oak laughed uproariously while Ash could only stare, stunned, at the hysterical girl and the odd Pokemon still flailing its short claws uselessly in her hands.

"Oh my god, that was even better than I thought!" She gasped, staring at Ash with eyes wide and a little teary from her laughter. "You still get startled like that!"

Ash felt his face flush bright red with heat as he realized that Daisy had done that completely on purpose to get a reaction out of him- and _boy_ had he delivered. Now he was soaking wet and embarrassed like nobody's business. Once he composed himself, he was curious about the Pokemon in her hands-

…was something touching him?

He glanced down at his right hand, which was still almost elbow-deep in the water and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw another shelled creature with big, black eyes and blue tentacles staring up at him through the clear liquid. It was running those tentacles over his fingers and was giving him a perplexed look, like it couldn't understand why he was sitting in its water.

The tentacles felt odd, but Ash didn't completely freak out this time. This Pokemon, like the one that Daisy was holding, was quite small, no more than a foot or so in total height. It's whole body was still underwater even as it curiously investigated Ash's hand with its blue appendages.

"What _are_ they?" He asked Daisy curiously. He'd never seen any Pokemon like these before.

"That little guy on your hand is an Omanyte," she told him, then glanced down at the exasperated creature still wriggling in her hands. "And this one is called Kabuto. They're what researchers call Fossil Pokemon, or Pokemon that lived in ancient times millions of years ago."

Ash stared at the shelled creature that was now slowly crawling up his arm using the suction on its tentacles with amazement. It didn't look all that special, but here was a Pokemon that had once existed before people and any semblance of civilization. He watched as the Omanyte's tentacle briefly touched the air and then quickly retreated back underwater. It didn't seem eager to leave its stream, and so let Ash's arm go to propel itself away with a small jet of water.

Daisy put the Kabuto back in the stream, ignoring its indignant attitude for the most part. She held out her hand to the boy and he took it, letting her haul him out of the water before offering him a cheeky smirk. "Sorry about your clothes, but I can get you something to wear in the meantime. We'll need you here for a few days."

"Thanks," he replied. "So…what do you need me here for, anyways? Do you want me to train them?"

She snorted. "Nothing so extravagant. The Omanyte and Kabuto probably wouldn't listen in the first place. They're quite shy and don't like leaving the water, as you noticed. Their evolved forms are also pretty skittish, though I'm sure our Kabutops wouldn't turn down a good fight. You'll be working with one of the other residents, but since you're here, I'll show you the rest of our species."

Baoba had been observing the scene for a short while and now grunted. "If you're going to give him the tour, I'll find the boy a room for him to stay in the meantime. Come find me in the resident's lounge later, alright?"

"Can't I change before we go look at everything?"

"A lot of our Pokemon here are water types, Ash," Daisy told him apologetically. "And since they can get spooked easily, its not uncommon to get blasted by them. It's better that you're already wet. Come on, let me give you the grand tour!"

Ash sighed inwardly. So the Fossil Pokemon were trigger happy with their water type moves. Perfect.

Daisy led him further down the stream and pointed at a large cluster of spiral-shaped shells in a deeper section of the water. "So those are most of our Omanyte, but do you see those really big ones in the middle? The two with spikes on their shells? Those are Omastar, the evolved form of Omanyte. They're a bit braver than Omanyte and are actually pretty powerful, but they aren't suited for battling outside of the water. The shell is so big and heavy that they can only crawl as fast as a Caterpie on land."

The creatures in question eyed them from the depths of the water as they passed by, and Ash watched as one Omastar retreated into its shell. The other used its tentacles to push itself up to the surface and get a closer look at the humans, but didn't approach them. After a few moments, it sank back down to the bottom and settled again.

"Like I said, they're just a _little_ bit braver than the Omanyte," Daisy giggled. "This next one isn't shy at all."

They walked down to a sandy patch by the stream, where Ash saw a bizarre creature with two big claws, bulbous eyes, and eight wing-like structures along its body. It looked up at the approaching people and raised its claws, exposing a small mouth on the bottom of its pointed head.

"It's alright, shrimp," Daisy knelt down and scratched the tip of its snout, causing it to make a surprised chirping sound not unlike that of an insect's. The Pokemon relaxed under her touch and watched her with its big, round eyes while she talked about it. "This is Anorith. He's a Fossil Pokemon originally found in the Hoenn Region."

Ash knelt down as well and Anorith's gaze immediately fixed itself on the boy. Before he could do anything, it spat a small jet of water right in his face and chittered. He sighed and wiped the liquid away, only for Anorith to spit more water on him.

To make it worse, Daisy was giggling again. "Here, let me see your hand."

She took his wrist and led it to Anorith's snout, causing them to touch. The small Pokemon relaxed this time and didn't spit at Ash anymore, instead watching him with its curious gaze.

He looked at Daisy with a raised eyebrow. "What was that about?"

"Anorith has a habit of spraying people with water to get their attention," Daisy explained. "He doesn't stop spitting until you touch him. He's a bit demanding, which is probably my fault since I spoil him all the time- it's just that he's so cute I can't help it!"

Ash rolled his eyes, but smiled. Daisy hadn't changed a bit.

They left the shrimp-like Pokemon on his sandy patch a few minutes later when Anorith was satisfied. Daisy kept talking as they entered a small path into the forested area. "Anorith has an evolved form called Armaldo, but we don't have one in the lab right now. We do have Kabuto's evolved form, Kabutops, who I'm sure is probably around here somewhere…ah!"

Daisy stopped suddenly and pointed at a small grove of trees near the stream. "There he is. Can you see?"

Ash peered through the vegetation and saw a gangly, bipedal figure covered in spiky brown armor standing under the trees. It had a massive head in the shape of a crescent and a pair of enormous scythes for arms. The Kabutops was stationary, but it was scanning the area cautiously.

"He's just watching his part of the stream," Daisy explained. "We have three Kabutops here and they get a little territorial with each other, but its mostly just showing off. They rarely get into actual fights."

"I bet they could do pretty well," Ash remarked, eyeing the massive scythes. He had no doubt that those were capable of inflicting a seriously powerful attack if Kabutops needed to.

The girl snapped her fingers in front of Ash's eyes. "Quit drooling over my precious baby Kabutops. He's a harmless shellfish with sharp hands."

"I'm not drooling," he denied. "But no way is he harmless."

"Liar, and you've never seen him beg for treats," she giggled. "C'mon, I have to show you our birds."

Their next destination was a large tree with many branches, upon which Ash saw an array of small, bird-like Pokemon with toothy red beaks and feathers colored brown and blue. The avian creatures tilted their heads to stare at the two humans below them, occasionally letting out loud squawks.

Daisy made a whistling sound and they all snapped to attention, chittering at her curiously as she reached into her pockets. Ash watched as she brought her hands out with a bunch of berries and threw them high into the air, causing the Pokemon to shriek in delight and scramble in an effort to catch them. Some of them jumped from branch to branch or glided briefly on their small wings in order to get their treats.

She smiled as the birds munched on the berries. "They're called Archen. Their fossils were found in the Unova Region. They're very noisy and greedy little critters, but they're mostly just bark. If you get attacked and hit them once or twice, they'll run away immediately."

The Archen returned to their squawking when the two humans left them, but Daisy gave Ash a serious look as they continued down the dirt path. "These next ones can be aggressive around strangers. Do as I say and we should be fine, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed, a little startled by her uncharacteristically serious expression.

He quickly realized what she was warning him about as they came to an area in the back of the dome which consisted of a rocky environment and saw the group of Pokemon stalking around.

There were two different kinds from what he could see, probably from the same evolutionary line. Both had tough gray and blue scales, small arms, and powerful legs and tails. Their skulls were thick and capable of taking some heavy impacts, which he realized after seeing a few of the creatures smash heads with each other. The smaller versions were only as tall as his shoulder and seemed more playful than anything.

The bigger ones were easily three times that height and had massive spikes on their skulls, neck, and knees. They had sharp red eyes and though they didn't appear predatory, there was no denying the aggression in their behavior. A pair of the larger species growled at each other and smashed their heads, creating a shockwave strong enough for Ash to feel it even twenty meters away. The pair lined up to have another go, but they were stopped when the biggest Pokemon in the group (whom he assumed to be the leader) let out a guttural roar and glared at them, instantly dissolving the quarrel.

Daisy was watching the herd with a trained eye and her voice was lowered. "The small ones are Cranidos. The big ones are called Rampardos. They're native to the Sinnoh Region and eat plants, but the Rampardos are extremely territorial. They don't let anyone besides me and a few other researchers near this area. Part of the reason Baoba is here is to build a new place for them to live, that way they don't attack any of the other residents."

"That'll be fun," he commented dryly. "How are you going to get them into their new home? Do I have to battle them?"

She shook her head. "Absolutely not. For one, we can't fight them because we'd lose their trust. Two, Rampardos are stupidly powerful, Ash. That skull can punch through solid metal as though it were styrofoam. If one of your Pokemon got hit by that, the chance of them begin seriously injured is really high."

"If they're so dangerous, why do you have them here?"

"They're only dangerous if threatened," she replied. "We take good care of them and we give them their space. We respect them. They can be quite gentle and protective if you befriend them. The only reason we're moving the herd is because we don't want the other Pokemon here to accidentally get into a fight with one of the Rampardos. That won't end well."

Daisy led him away from the herd of Cranidos and Rampardos, back towards the stream. "Now, I bet you're wondering why you're here!"

"As a matter of fact I was!" He exclaimed, joining in on her cheery banter.

"Well, mister Pokemon Master, today I have a task for you that may or may not take a while," she admitted. "Let's get you changed into dry clothes and then I'll talk to you about our final resident."

* * *

It turned out that the lab had a fairly large residential section in the western wing for the employees and any guests staying overnight. Ash was granted a room for himself and his Pokemon once they met up with Baoba in the resident's lounge, taking the chance to change into some of his dry clothes. His favorite blue and white vest had to be left off since it was soaked, so for now he was wearing a white cotton shirt and a spare pair of dark jeans. His wet clothes were tossed into one of the dryers and he left his backpack in the room for the time being.

Once he was done, Ash met Daisy and Baoba outside of his temporary room. "Alright, I'm ready."

"Good. We've got a lot of work to do," Baoba told him. "Let's go to the control room. We'll brief you on the way."

He was led into the eastern wing of the lab, where there were several rooms designated for scientific experiments, lectures, and observations. At the end of the building was a final, larger hub with a lot of computer tech and video screens showing security footage of the entire lab in real time.

Daisy walked up behind one of the lab assistants sitting at the desk there. "Do we have a confirmed location on her?"

"Well, she hasn't moved too much, but latest intel is that she's about three miles to the south by the cliffs," the man replied. "I suspect she's fishing or hunting in the woods around there."

Baoba arched an eyebrow. "Have there been any incidents?"

"None so far, but if she stays out there much longer, someone is bound to notice her."

Ash was a little confused by the chatter. He had thought the Pokemon he'd be working with was in the lab, but apparently it was quite a distance away. "Um…what's going on?"

"Sorry, Ash," Daisy turned to look at him with a deep frown. "I haven't been entirely honest with you or my grandpa. I asked him for a trainer's help under the guise that one of our residents was giving us some problems, but the situation is actually a lot more serious than that."

Baoba pointed at a blip on one of the screens, marked as AD-001. "That marker shows one of the lab's Pokemon several miles to the south of our current position. She destroyed her enclosure a week ago and has been wandering through the area around the lab since then. All of our attempts to recapture her have failed and she even destroyed the pokeball we had for her originally. None of the residents here are trainers, and even Daisy was unable to catch her, which is why we asked Samuel as discreetly as possible to send us some help."

"What is it?" Ash asked. "What kind of Pokemon?"

"She's an Aerodactyl. One of the strongest Fossil Pokemon known to science and the most powerful resident of the lab," Daisy answered as she pulled out her own Pokedex. "She used to be easy to handle, but the other day a pair of wild Rhydon were battling nearby and some of their attacks broke into her enclosure. She got startled and angry, then went on a rampage before she disappeared. We have a tracking collar on her, but even though we know where she is, she's just too powerful for my Pokemon."

She held the Pokedex out to him to show Ash a picture of a Pokemon the likes of which he'd only seen as bones in museums- and in Team Rocket's twisted laboratory, but that one hadn't been created properly. It looked for all the world like a dragon, with tough gray scales and massive wings, a long tail, huge jaws, and sharp talons on its two legs. A pair of sharp horns protruded from the back of its skull and three small fingers were present on the joint of its wings.

"She looks strong," he said slowly. Ash read a little bit about the pseudo-dragon from the Pokedex and the information only confirmed his thoughts; a rock and flying type, powerful physical and long range attacks, blazing speed, and impressive versatility. No, she would not be an easy opponent to defeat, let alone capture.

"We need your help for two things," Baoba informed Ash. "First, we have to recapture Aerodactyl and return her to the lab. Fortunately, the Safari Zone personal and myself have almost finished rebuilding her enclosure and improving it to meet the specifications Samuel requested. We'll be tracking her while you and Daisy are out to send you in the right direction."

"Second, at least one of those Rhydon are still in the area. It also needs to be relocated, but we have no way of tracking it. Your job will be to find out where it's living and capture it. We aren't sure exactly how powerful it is, but most wild Rhydon fight solely with brute force. If you have a Pokemon capable of hitting it at long range, it shouldn't give you too much trouble."

Douse would probably be enough to handle the Rhydon, Ash mused, but Aerodactyl was another matter entirely. He didn't have any Pokemon that could fly, which would put him at a distinct disadvantage. There was no telling how he was going to pull this one off.

Daisy was watching him uncertainly. "Can you pull it off? I know that you only became a trainer recently, but…"

"I think I can do it," Ash told her. "Rhydon at least shouldn't be much of a problem if I can find it, I just don't know how I'm going to battle Aerodactyl yet."

"I'll be there to help guide you," she assured him. "I know most of her attack patterns and habits. She won't be easy to fight, but maybe we can pull it off if we work together."

"You'll have to act quickly," Baoba told them. "I don't like lying to Samuel about the welfare of one of the lab's Pokemon, and if Aerodactyl is seen then he'll find out anyway from the reports. The longer she goes outside, the greater the chance of something going wrong."

Ash let his hand fall to the pokeballs at his belt on reflex. "Well, we're wasting time."

Daisy cracked a smile. "Impatient as ever, I see."

* * *

They took a walkie-talkie with them and began their search towards the south. As they travelled, Ash set Eevee and Sobek loose to find any hint of their quarries. Daisy had questioned Sobek's presence until he pointed out that the Krokorok's sensitivity to ground vibrations would be a huge help in locating the rogue Rhydon wandering about.

"Eevee, use your nose to find out if there's anything close to us," Ash told her. "Sobek, you dig underground and feel around for any heavy vibrations. Rhydon are big and heavy Pokemon. If there's one nearby, you should be able to sense it pretty easily. Track it down and then come find us."

His Pokemon both nodded and set about to fulfill their tasks. Sobek disappeared into a hole in the ground while Eevee stayed with them, ears pricked and nose twitching as they walked. Daisy had a short-range tracking device in her hand while the control team at the lab confirmed Aerodactyl's location for them.

"How does Aerodactyl fight?" Ash asked the young woman.

"She prefers to fight long-range, but her most powerful attacks are those that require her to hit opponents physically," Daisy answered. "When I fought her, she launched Hyper Beams for a little while and then came in with moves like Wing Attack, Iron Head, and Crunch. She knows a few others, but those are her best ones. Nobody has formally trained her and like I said, she used to be a pretty calm girl. The problem is that she's quite strong fighting on instinct even without training."

He chewed his lip thoughtfully. So Aerodactyl at least wasn't a trained Pokemon, but she was still a force to be reckoned with. She wouldn't expect tricks or combination moves, then. He would have to capitalize on that advantage as much as possible if he was going to defeat her.

The short-range tracker in Daisy's hand suddenly beeped and both of their heads jerked towards it. On the walkie-talkie, Baoba's voice came through. _"You're getting close. She's at the cliffside."_

"Roger that," Daisy replied quietly.

They made their way towards Aerodactyl's position carefully, not wanting to startle the pseudo-dragon any further. After another two hundred meters or so, they came to the edge of the forest and found themselves looking upon a small rocky area on the tip of a massive cliff.

At the edge of the cliff was their quarry. Aerodactyl was looking out over the water with her wings spread, probably absorbing some of the sun's heat to warm herself up. She hadn't noticed them yet- maybe he could throw a pokeball at her while she was distracted…?

Any thoughts of getting the jump on her were cut off as Aerodactyl suddenly stiffened and jerked her head around to stare at them with sharp, amber eyes. She had probably caught their scent, and looked very much unamused by their presence. Ash slowly reached for Douse's pokeball while she continued to stare them down.

She let out a high-pitch screech that made his spine shiver, turning around fully to flex her wings in a threat display. Ash set Douse loose while Eevee crouched beside him, her fur bristling while a growl rumbled in the bak of her throat.

"You'll need more than those two," Daisy protested. "She's too powerful even with Poliwhirl."

"We'll see," Ash replied. "Let me get a feel for what she can do and then I'll change things up if we have to."

Aerodactyl seemed to realize that they weren't going to leave without a fight and bared her sharp fangs in a snarl, then flapped her wings to get airborne. Her mouth was open and charging a Hyper Beam in seconds. He reacted quickly to beat her to the punch. "Douse, Ice Beam! Eevee, Shadow Ball!"

His two companions launched arcing rays of cold energy and a sphere of pitch-black to meet Aerodactyl's Hyper Beam, which exploded into a mass of black smoke. Ash knew that she would be immobile for a few moments while recharging from Hyper Beam's expensive energy output and followed up with another order. "Scald! Shadow Ball!"

Douse and Eevee followed his commands and fired their attacks, aiming for where Aerodactyl had been before the cloud of smoke covered their vision. A moment after they made their move, there was a loud, angry shriek as the attacks made contact with their target. Aerodactyl flapped her wings strongly to clear the remaining debris in the air, amber eyes glowing furiously from being hit.

Ash assessed the amount of damage they'd done to her from those two attacks and frowned. Even with the super-effective Scald making contact, Aerodactyl seemed more annoyed than hurt. He'd have to change tactics.

Aerodactyl was doing the same thing. She folded her wings and dove towards the two opposing Pokemon, who tensed as she approached with a furious roar.

"Douse, use Ice Beam head-on!" Ash shouted quickly. "Eevee, flank her!"

Douse reared his head back and fired the Ice Beam just as Ash ordered, covering Eevee while the normal type darted sideways to get on Aerodactyl's blind side. The pseudo-dragon ignored the smaller of her two opponents in favor of evading Douse's Ice Beams, drawing closer and closer until she was just a few meters off the ground.

"Quick Tail!"

Eevee slipped into Quick Attack without a second thought and lunged upwards so she was just above their opponent. Her tail glowed metallic silver as she flipped quickly and slammed the Iron Tail into the back of Aerodactyl's skull. The impact stunned the pseudo-dragon for a critical moment, causing her to hit the ground and tumble roughly across the rocky terrain. She came to a stop not far away from Ash's Pokemon just as Eevee landed from her latest attack.

"Douse, Wake-Up Slap! Eevee, back him up with Helping Hand!"

Eevee's body glowed briefly as she transferred some of her energy to Douse, who lunged at Aerodactyl with the intent of knocking her out. However, the Fossil Pokemon recovered more quickly than expected and her horns suddenly turned silver. She met the empowered Wake-Up Slap with another roar, crashing her Iron Head attack into Douse's strike.

Despite his power being boosted, Douse was launched backwards by the raw power of Aerodactyl's attack. She was very much so superior in terms of physical might. Ash gritted his teeth as the pseudo-dragon recovered herself and leered at them, flexing her claws and baring her sharp teeth. He would have to bring out yet another member of his team for this. He reached for Pyro's pokeball-

-a deep bellow suddenly shook the ground and then spires of solid rock exploded from the dirt near Aerodactyl, punching into her hide and sending her sprawling with a shriek of pain. Ash thought for a moment that Sobek had joined them until another Stone Edge smashed into Douse and Eevee as well. His partners let out pained cries as they were struck and glared towards the individual that had surprised them.

He blanched as the massive form of a Rhydon casually smashed a tree out of the way with one of its ridiculously powerful arms. It looked extremely angry and he would bet his bottom dollar that the beast thought they were trespassing in its territory. Aerodactyl was probably of the same mind, as she got back up and shrieked at Rhydon with a livid glare. She was hurt, but she was also even more pissed off than before.

This was the worst possible scenario. Aerodactyl was still plenty capable of fighting and now Rhydon was here as well. He had no choice but to send out the rest of his team.

But where was Sobek?

Pyro, Spectre, and Jasmine appeared in flashes of light and seemed utterly bewildered by the scene before them. Ash got their attention quickly. "We have to knock them both out! Be careful, they're strong!"

Rhydon bellowed again and Aerodactyl let out a matching shriek, causing his team to tense up. Pyro brandished his claws and let out a roar to challenge them, leading the rest of Ash's Pokemon. It was going to be an ugly three-way fight.

Daisy was behind Ash, speaking urgently into the walkie-talkie, but he had to focus on the battle. Rhydon and Aerodactyl wouldn't differentiate between each other and he would have let them beat each other senseless if they weren't also busy trying to wipe him and his team out at the same time.

Aerodactyl made the first move by lunging at Rhydon with Iron Head. The rock type stomped the ground hard in response and triggered another Stone Edge, which collided with the pseudo-dragon's attack and forced her backwards. Enraged from the failed assault, Aerodactyl condensed bright orange energy in her mouth and fired the Hyper Beam in a sweeping motion towards all of the others on the cliff.

Ash's team managed to avoid the beam and Spectre quickly floated over to use Protect in front of his trainer and Daisy. The little ghost's emerald shield withstood the hazardous blast easily, much to Ash's relief. "Thanks, Spectre! Try and cover the others as much as you can!"

Spectre nodded and floated after his comrades, who were now attacking Rhydon while Aerodactyl was busy recharging. The behemoth had been struck by her Hyper Beam, but it had done next to nothing against its tough armor. Now it met Ash's team head on by smashing its fist into the rocky terrain and sending bits of stone flying at them. It was a clever use of Rock Smash, but made useless by Pyro's swift Metal Claw attack and Douse's Mega Punch.

Eevee used Pyro's shoulders as a launching platform and jumped into the air, spinning rapidly and smashing an Iron Tail into Rhydon's head before it could react. The behemoth roared with fury, swinging its arms at her as she flipped away and evaded the strikes. While it was focused on her, Pyro and Douse delivered a double-dose of Metal Claw and Wake-Up Slap to its body. The super-effective moves rent its hide and shoved it back, infuriating Rhydon even further.

Its drill began to spin and its knees bent for some kind of charge attack, but it was interrupted by a Dragon Rage launched from Jasmine in the back of the group. The energy struck Rhydon in the face and knocked it off-balance, though it shook itself a moment later and didn't seem too bothered by the damage. Rhydon spun its drill and crouched in preparation for something. Above them, Aerodactyl began to move again.

Ash's eyes whipped up as the pseudo-dragon dove again while clenching the claws on her wings and feet. She was going for Douse and Pyro, a shriek of rage tearing from her jaws. They noticed her quickly, but were unable to do anything as Rhydon jumped high and came down _hard_ -

The Earthquake Rhydon unleashed made the cliff shudder and large sections at the edge began to fall into the ocean. Ash's team (with the exception of Spectre) were knocked off-balance as the wave of energy tore through the ground and sent them sprawling. Aerodactyl took advantage of the commotion to generate glowing green energy on both sets of her claws and then slashed at her intended targets. Pyro was swiped into a tree by the talons on her wings and the ones on her feet delivered a ferocious drop kick into Douse's round body.

"Eevee, Jasmine, back them up!" Ash yelled. "Spectre, cover the others from Rhydon!"

His team leaped into action while Aerodactyl tried to continue her attacks on Pyro and Douse, who were momentarily stunned. Eevee lunged forward and smashed a Quick Tail into Aerodactyl's leg, causing her to trip. As the Fossil Pokemon spun around to bite her, Jasmine slipped into Agility and whipped a Dragon Tail attack at their opponent's lower jaw, forcibly snapping her mouth shut. The distraction gave Eevee the chance to land and scramble away to safety, much to Aerodactyl's fury.

Rhydon took the time to launch a Stone Edge at Douse, but Spectre used Shadow Sneak to get between them quickly and created an energy shield that stopped the rock type move cold. Douse made a grateful croak and jumped up to fire a Scald attack, which took Rhydon in the face and gave the rest of the team a chance to recover from the onslaught of their opponents.

Aerodactyl snarled as she was struck again by Eevee's Quick Tail, but she managed to swipe her wing claws down quickly enough to pin the normal type by the tail before she could escape again. Eevee let out a squeal which turned into a growl of rage as Aerodactyl lunged to bite her. The attack was interrupted as Pyro rushed in and delivered a Brick Break into the top of the pseudo-dragon's skull, then Jasmine's Dragon Tail collided with Aerodactyl's wing and forced her to release Eevee. The normal type got revenge for being caught by spitting a particularly powerful Shadow Ball into her enemy's face, which made Aerodactyl roar again.

Although half of Ash's team was assaulting the Fossil Pokemon, Douse was currently the only one keeping Rhydon busy, as Spectre was trying desperately to cover him from all of the behemoth's attacks. The Poliwhirl was so outclassed by Rhydon's raw power and defense that type advantage didn't even begin to make the fight fair. Eventually, Spectre could no longer keep up the consecutive Protects and he was struck by a Stone Edge that he had tried to protect Douse from. The little ghost was sent flying by the attack with a hollow sound of pain.

Douse reared back and blasted Rhydon with a ridiculous amount of water, drenching the rock type in liquid. The attempted Hydro Pump still wasn't concentrated enough to do much damage though and it only served to drain Douse's reserves of strength further. With the rest of his team preoccupied and Spectre still recovering from the damage he'd taken, Douse was defenseless as Rhydon brought back one of its mighty limbs to finish the job-

-as it tried to swing forward, Rhydon's arm was grabbed by something that dug its heels into the ground and stopped it in its tracks. The behemoth jerked its gaze down to stare at the creature that was ballsy enough to actually put a halt to its advance and became surprised by the sight of Sobek glaring back at it with smoldering eyes.

Ash felt relieved by Sobek's arrival, but a closer look made him pale. The Krokorok looked like he'd been on the receiving end of a serious beating, with fangs broken and several injuries visible on his body. Rhydon seemed surprised by his appearance in the first place, but seemed to recognize him. Had Sobek discovered Rhydon while they were on their way to Aerodactyl and been attacked? That would explain why he was hurt- in a straight fight, he had no chance of beating this beast by himself. Maybe the sounds of their fight with Aerodactyl had caused it to leave the dark type behind and come after them.

Sobek was injured and pissed, opening his jaws to Crunch tightly on the behemoth's tough hide. Rhydon actually winced from the force and growled angrily, lifting its arm up to hurl the Krokorok from its limb. Sobek clung on stubbornly and only clamped his jaws down tighter until the stone armor began to crack even as Rhydon made to swing its other fist.

Fortunately, Sobek was not alone anymore and he had the full strength of his entire team backing him up. Spectre used Shadow Sneak to close in and his single crimson eye glowed brightly, creating a faint outline of energy around Rhydon's body with Disable. While the behemoth was briefly immobilized, Douse jumped back in and struck it across the face with Wake-Up Slap, giving Sobek the chance to let go and dive underground. Rhydon broke free of Disable a moment later and roared angrily, but its rage turned into surprise as the ground around it turned into sand and its own massive weight made it sink knee-deep.

Ash couldn't help but grin nervously. Rhydon was trapped in Sobek's Sand Tomb and wide open for his team to assault it. Douse was already firing Scald while Spectre charged a Shadow Ball up. Sobek lunged out of the sand and punched the ground, triggering a Stone Edge that made its way down the pit towards the behemoth. Rhydon simply smashed the stone blades away with a Rock Smash, though it was hit cleanly by Scald and Shadow Ball. It still looked angry, but Ash thought that it might be getting tired at last. Even with armor that thick, being struck by so many attacks would definitely put some wear and tear on its body.

He heard a screech of pain and spun back towards the fight with Aerodactyl just in time to see Eevee go flying after getting stuck by a Wing Attack. She hit the ground roughly and managed to get back up, but it was obvious that she was weakening by the way she staggered to her feet.

The Fossil Pokemon spun towards Pyro and Jasmine as they lunged at her with Metal Claw and Dragon Tail at the ready. She snarled and her wing claws became enveloped in green energy, then swiped at the pair of charging Pokemon. Jasmine managed to dive around the Dragon Claw and still land her attack, but Pyro was caught in the chest and sent flying into a tree.

Eevee gave Jasmine a chance to get away by distracting Aerodactyl with a Shadow Ball that was barely half of her normal power. The attack only served to be an irritation, but it was enough to make the pseudo-dragon's eyes lock on the weakened normal type. She was preparing to lunge at Eevee when Pyro jumped from the top of the tree and came down on her with a ferocious Dragon Rush, smashing Aerodactyl's head into the ground beneath her.

Aerodactyl lifted her head up immediately and unleashed a Hyper Beam at Pyro point-blank. The beam had only been charged for an instant and wasn't as powerful as a result of that, but it was still enough to rocket the Charmeleon into the air and send him crashing to the ground thirty feet away.

While Aerodactyl was temporarily weakened from using Hyper Beam, Ash seized the opportunity to grab an empty pokeball and hurled it at the psudo-dragon. The hit was good and she was sucked up in a flash of red light, much to his relief. He watched the ball wriggle for a few seconds and froze when it exploded violently, unleashing Aerodactyl back upon them with a roar of rage.

Furious amber eyes locked onto him and he felt a chill go down his spine. She was having none of that.

He yelped as suddenly, there was an explosion at the fight where Sobek, Douse, and Spectre were battling Rhydon. The behemoth had grown tired of the Sand Tomb assault and solved the problem by using Stone Edge to lift itself out of the trap and then jump at Ash's Pokemon while its horn glowed brightly. The resulting shock wave of the Megahorn created a huge crater and sent his three team members flying.

Aerodactyl whipped her head towards Rhydon and lunged into the air, diving at it with her horns glowing silver. The behemoth was caught off-guard this time and took the Iron Head in its flank, causing it to roar in pain. Rhydon swung one of its huge arms at her and missed, but they clashed again with Iron Head and Megahorn just a moment later with unbelievable power.

Ash's team took the chance to regroup by their trainer. They were all exhausted and hurt and he wasn't sure how much longer they could continue fighting against such powerful adversaries before one of them was hurt really badly.

He jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder and spun to find Daisy watching the rock types battle with a worried expression on her face. Ash had almost forgotten she was still here.

"We have to retreat. It's too dangerous to stick around and your Pokemon are in no condition to keep fighting like this," she told him.

He hated to admit it, but she was probably right. His team just wasn't powerful enough to handle beasts like these two, much less so when they were fighting both at the same time. Ash opened his mouth to concede when Rhydon launched a line of Stone Edge towards them in an attempt to hit Aerodactyl, who dodged by flying to the side. He and his Pokemon scrambled to avoid the pointed rocks that missed them by only a few feet and brought them closer to the edge of the cliff.

Sobek leered at the beast and retaliated by launching his own string of Stone Edge, but the impact did nothing more than garner Rhydon's attention and irritation towards them. The behemoth leaped up and came back down with an incredible amount of force, unleashing a violent Earthquake on the cliffside again. Massive chunks of stone were falling away now and Ash felt his stomach lurch as the ground beneath his feet became unstable.

Every sense in his body screamed danger as their section of the cliff began to fall apart and then a terrified wail from Eevee as the ground fell away beneath her feet had him _jumping_ even as Daisy _screamed_ behind him-

He didn't even think before diving after her and catching Eevee, clutching her close to his chest as they fell amidst the debris of rocks and collapsing cliff into open air. Wide eyes stared down at the surging ocean below them and Ash realized that from this height, landing in water wouldn't make any difference because _they would still die from the impact_.

He tightened his grasp around Eevee and tried to balance them so that his back would hit the water first, hopefully giving her even the tiniest chance of survival at his dispense. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her mouth was open, but her cry was silent as they fell _closer_ and _closer_ to the _water_ -

-two powerful arms suddenly wrapped around his body and Ash's eyes were suddenly exposed to a fierce, blinding white light. He was vaguely aware of a titanic roar growing deeper and deeper as the figure wrapped in light changed and grew larger. The heat emanating from the creature which had saved them was so intense that he thought his skin would burn up. It grew hotter and brighter, hotter and brighter, until he couldn't take it anymore and shut his eyes tightly to ward off the offending flare that resembled a small sun-

Then suddenly, they weren't falling down anymore.

Ash felt his stomach hit the opposite end of his body as they began climbing up and he was aware of powerful wingbeats thrusting the air past them. He didn't dare open his eyes as he felt a jarring thud and then they were on solid ground again. The arms set him and Eevee down and he just collapsed, finally daring to open his eyes and stare at their savior.

The great orange dragon in front of him was one he didn't even recognize for a few moments that felt like eternity. It was much taller than him now and had two horns sprouting from the back of its skull. The arms and legs hadn't changed a lot, but they had become noticeably more muscular to support a heavier body and the tail was longer too, lashing from side to side with aggression. Two massive wings were unfurled and spread in all their glory, easily reaching twenty feet from tip to tip.

Ash had no idea who this was until he looked into the dragon's eyes and recognized the familiar onyx orbs staring at him in a confusing mixture of worry, anger and fear-

 _"_ _Pyro?"_ He choked out.

The Charizard let out a deep growl to assure Ash that yes, it was him. Pyro had reached the final stage of his evolution and he could feel power brimming under every scale in his body on a level he'd never felt before. He was at once terrified after seeing his trainer jump to his apparent death in order to protect one of their own, furious that Ash had sacrificed himself so willingly, and worried for his best friend's well being. This was a moment they should have been able to spend together and connect further.

The sound of clashing Pokemon made Pyro turn towards the battling forms of Aerodactyl and Rhydon, who were oblivious to the drama they had caused and the subsequent near-deaths. The Charizard's onyx eyes began to smolder with that same rage he'd felt as a Charmeleon.

But quite frankly, he'd never been so _completely_ and _totally_ _livid_ in his entire life.

His wings launched his new, massive body into the air and towards the pair of fighting rock types. Aerodactyl had just avoided another Stone Edge attack by surging upwards, right into the direction that Pyro was approaching from.

A Metal Claw struck the Fossil Pokemon's neck and gripped it harshly, causing her to shriek in pain. Rhydon stared in surprise at the new addition to the battle as Pyro dragged Aerodactyl out of the air and lunged at the behemoth below them. He threw her at Rhydon and unbalanced the massive rock type before clenching the muscles in his arm until they glowed white with energy, then smashed a Brick Break attack into Rhydon's head. The force jarred the behemoth so much that it staggered and collapsed to one knee, utterly stunned from the now-far more powerful fighting type move.

Aerodactyl recovered first and flew towards Pyro to fire a Hyper Beam, which he met with a Flamethrower that rippled from his jaws in a powerful stream. The resulting collision triggered a violent explosion and a cloud of debris that Pyro dove into immediately, darting out of the other end to take the Fossil Pokemon by surprise. Aerodactyl never saw the Dragon Rush coming until she was rammed in the stomach with the full force of Pyro's might and smashed through a thick tree trunk.

Pyro roared with surprise as a spire of rock punched out of the ground near him and narrowly missed one of his wings, causing him to spin back towards Rhydon. The behemoth's horn glowed as it charged a Megahorn and lunged at its opponent by leaping into the air. Pyro evaded the attack by rapidly flapping his massive wings to edge sideways out of Rhydon's path, then surged up so that he was positioned above the rock type while it was still suspended in midair. His talons on both hands flashed metallic silver as he dove at Rhydon and jammed the Metal Claw into its back, shoving it violently back to the ground.

Aerodactyl barely had time to look up from where she lay sprawled on the ground before Pyro's furious attack crushed Rhydon's body into hers and both rock types were defeated by the incredible impact. The Charizard slammed his foot onto the bodies of his unconscious foes and roared skyward, blasting the air with a plume of flame.

Ash was so shocked by how quickly Pyro had dispatched the pair that he almost forgot to capture them. Recalling that regular pokeballs hadn't done the trick last time, he grabbed two of the Ultra Balls that Bill had given him in Cerulean City and threw them both at Aerodactyl and Rhydon, scoring clean hits on the defeated Pokemon. They were caught easily this time, seeing as the pair were completely out of it and had no strength to break free from the upgraded pokeballs.

He let out a huge sigh and sat back down, relieved that it was finally over.

Eevee hadn't let go of him and was still clinging tightly to his shirt. Ash ran a hand through her soft fur and took a few deep breaths to gather himself as the rest of his team and Daisy got it through their heads that the battle was over.

"Okay. Let's _never_ do that again."

He felt a hard smack upside his head and yelped, only for Daisy to storm around until she was standing in front of him with a look of thunder on her face.

"You complete and total _idiot!_ Jumping off of a cliff without a flying type Pokemon to save you?! Are you out of your mind?! You could have been _killed!_ You could have-"

Ash let her rant. He was too exhausted to point out that he'd been trying to save Eevee, but also knew that Daisy was probably venting all of the terror and adrenaline after seeing him jump to what had nearly been his death. The rest of his team couldn't even bring themselves to be irritated with the woman's yelling because they were as burnt out as he was.

He blinked when Pyro walked up to them and stared down at Ash silently, but his eyes said it all.

He was an idiot.

His mother was probably going to kill him for this if she ever found out about it.

And he had never loved his Pokemon more than he did in that moment.

* * *

Several hours and a much-needed rest in his temporary bed later, Ash heard a knock at the door and quietly called for whoever it was to come in. Daisy walked inside and closed the door behind her, giving him a worried look.

"Are you okay?"

"I think so," he replied tersely. "Now that I know my team is safe, I think I'm okay."

She frowned. "I'm pretty sure you went into shock for a little while after falling off of the cliff. But if there were any other negative effects from that, they would have shown up by now. You should be fine."

He didn't reply to that. Daisy walked over to him and knelt in front of the boy where he sat on the edge of the bed. She took his hands and rubbed them gently like she used to do when she had babysat him all those years ago. Ash had once been scared of lighting, and Daisy would calm him by doing this.

"You're okay. Your Pokemon are all okay. Charizard, Eevee, Krokorok, Poliwhirl, Duskull, and Dratini are all okay."

Ash nodded and suddenly blurted out. "I thought Eevee was going to die. I didn't want that to happen. Pikachu almost got killed trying to protect me and now Eevee was almost- am I just a bad trainer?"

"Ash," Daisy sat beside him and brought the boy into a firm, but gently hug. "You are an amazing trainer. You are one of the most amazing trainers I know. I've met so many people in my life, but I've never seen one more dedicated to his Pokemon before. You jumped after Eevee without a second thought and you would have given yourself up to save her. Charmeleon responded to that same, incredible passion of yours and it let him evolve to protect the both of you."

"I don't know about what happened to Pikachu, but I have no doubt in my mind that it was trying to keep you safe because it treasured you, you brave, brave boy. You treasure your Pokemon and they treasure you in response. That's what makes your bond with them so strong that you'd give your lives to save each other. That's the kind of bond that makes the greatest trainers in the world who they are. A bad trainer? You'll be an incredible trainer one day if your Pokemon already love you this much."

Her words had him choking on emotion and Ash hated the fact that his eyes were stinging with water, but Daisy just rocked back and forth with him in her embrace, soothing the boy while he came to terms with the danger they'd experienced today.

* * *

"…well, I'm glad to hear that Aerodactyl's relocation was successful," Professor Oak responded through the video phone, smiling at the trio of people on the other side. "Thank you for keeping her busy, Ash. I can't imagine she was very easy to entertain."

Ash almost sweat-dropped at the vast understatement. "No, she definitely wasn't easy."

"Her new enclosure is pretty much finished now," Baoba told the Professor. "I'll give you a full report once it's complete. We have some minor tweaks to make, but she should be perfectly happy there."

"I see. And is the new paddock capable of withstanding attacks from the outside? Say, those from a Rhydon?"

The room got very quiet at that. Oak was still smiling, even while Daisy stammered. "Y-yes, of course! There's no way anything could break in there ag- at all!"

"Mmhm. Then could one of you explain very clearly why I was sent an Aerodactyl and a Rhydon with Ash's trainer ID on them just a little while ago?"

All three of them paled. Ash felt like a complete idiot now for totally forgetting that any Pokemon he captured would be sent straight to Professor Oak since he had a full party of six on his person. Even if he didn't know exactly what transpired, it wouldn't take his genius long to see the damage done to Aerodactyl and Rhydon, then put two and two together.

The lot of them were idiots that had been caught red-handed.

"G-grandpa," Daisy looked like she was about to have a panic attack. "I-I can explain, I promise-"

"Relax, Daisy. I'm not angry with you," Oak sighed. "While I admit that I'm a little disappointed that you didn't inform me of Aerodactyl's escape immediately, I can respect your reasons for not doing so. You tried your best to fix the situation yourself and weren't afraid to ask for help, even if you didn't tell the truth. Am I correct?"

She swallowed hard and looked down at her feet, like a child being scolded. "Yes, sir."

"Then there's nothing to be ashamed of," he said gently. "Let's just be glad that Aerodactyl is safe now and that no one was seriously hurt."

Not one of them dared to mention Ash's tumble off of the cliff. Samuel Oak was a forgiving person, but he really didn't need to know about that particular near-death experience.

"I'll send Aerodactyl back to the lab after she recovers from her injuries," Oak told them. "As for the Rhydon…Ash, it's technically yours. What do you want to do with it?"

Ash frowned. "I can't train it as I am now. We only managed to beat it because my entire team ganged up on it and Pyro evolved at the last second. It's too powerful for me to handle."

"A wise decision. Wild Rhydon of this level are rare outside of the mountains and they certainly don't respond well to first-time trainers," Oak mused. "I'll keep it here for the time being until I can find a trainer capable of handling it. It'll probably go to someone in the League. Is that acceptable?"

"It's fine with me," Ash said. Not that he had anything against Rhydon, but he had a problem with the idea of training the same Pokemon that had nearly killed Eevee and himself with its reckless use of Earthquake on the cliffside. There was just no way for him to safely handle it at his current level. It was unfortunate that two of his five Ultra Balls had to be used on Pokemon that he couldn't keep, but at least they wouldn't be causing trouble anymore.

"Well, I've got an Aerodactyl to heal and a Rhydon to adopt out," Oak said suddenly. "You all get some rest and turn in for the night. You've more than earned it after pulling this off."

Daisy smiled. "Thank you, grandpa."

Baoba nodded and Ash didn't respond to the praise, but he was glad that it had all turned out well in the end. The screen was turned off as Oak cut the transmission and he felt his exhaustion catch up with him.

"I'm taking his advice and going to bed," Ash muttered sleepily. "Goodnight, you guys."

"Okay," Daisy replied. "By the way, I sent your Pokemon to your room. They're fully healed and completely healthy again."

"Thank you," he said sincerely. Then he left Daisy and Baoba to find his bed and sleep away the day's stresses.

* * *

He released his whole team upon entering his room and locking the door behind him. They converged on him on instinct, pressing themselves to their trainer and best friend. Pyro's massive frame shifted behind Ash and wrapped his arms around the boy, prompting the others to do the same. Eevee jumped into Ash's arms and buried her nose in his chest, Spectre floated up and settled on the boy's head, Jasmine wrapped the end of her tail around his leg, Douse grasped his arm, and Sobek pressed his snout gently to his shoulder.

Ash smiled as he felt the familiar touch of all his Pokemon. "Hey there, everyone. You were all amazing today. I couldn't be prouder of how well you fought against those two."

A series of muffled noises from his team acknowledged the praise. Ash felt his eyes drooping and let his Pokemon know that he wanted to sleep, so they released him and got about their usual nightly routine.

Ash set down the fireproof blanket for Pyro's tail flame, which was now nearly as big as the blanket itself. He would have to get a bigger one at some point. He climbed into bed then and waited for his Pokemon to settle down. Pyro lay his much larger skull on the pillow beside Ash while the rest of his body settled on the floor. Eevee crawled onto his chest and snuggled up there to get comfortable. Douse was content to lean against the bed frame beside Pyro and sleep there, but Ash was surprised when Sobek climbed into the bed as well and pushed his nose under Ash's hand. Spectre apparently didn't feel like sleeping and just hovered by the bed to watch over them, but Jasmine slithered up onto the mattress and rested her head on Ash's stomach.

He couldn't believe they all fit on the small bed, but he was too tired to think about it and the moment was the most peaceful he'd felt in a long time. Ash slept soundly that night with all of his Pokemon gathered around him, safe and secure and dreaming pleasant things.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, it has been a while, hasn't it! I'm sorry for the delay, but not long after the last chapter came out, a very special game arrived that I've been waiting to play for a long time! I'm sure most of you can guess what it is, but if it wasn't obvious, I became addicted to Pokemon Go. Now that the craze has died down a fair bit, I'm getting back to my writing! Thank you for being so patient with me! Now, for the review responses to last chapter!**

 **Madrigal-in-Training: I like the fact that Ash had a realistic defeat in this story. Koga is an Elite 4 level trainer, so it would have been strange if Ash barely scraped a win in Celadon, and then won again at Fuschia. His team is really growing into itself now, and I wonder if Charmeleon will evolve soon. The SS Anne scene is also one that I'm interested in, because Douse might be able to lead Ash away, or, if not, Charmeleon could evolve to fly him to safety. When that does occur, will Ash be making more trips home? Flying is an easier way to travel than walking, especially since he can quickly traverse rough terrain or trainer battles, and it would have some more scenes with Delia and Prof. Oak. Finally, I loved the bonding moment between Ash and Eevee in the shower, and hope that you integrate more of those little moments of daily life into the story. Like Ash cooking a meal, and scolding Spectre for adding random spices, only to find that his fire type loved the spicy taste or talking to Eevee about his life while grooming over.**

 **\- I agree with that entirely, which is why I felt that Ash's first loss in a gym should take place here. A lot of other writers use Sabrina as that tipping point, but I feel like Koga doesn't get the rep he deserves** **sometimes. That's just me though. I think one of your questions has been answered in this chapter! To answer the other about Ash making trips home, I think he will be able to travel to Pallet Town some more if he needs to, don't you? There will be more bonding moments in the future, believe me! They are coming!**

 **246kisses:** **I can't wait to see what Eevee will evolve into, if she even wants to evolve at all.**

 **\- Only time will tell ;)**

 **MidnightFenrir:** **Great story! I'm actually pretty surprised it's not more popular because it seems to be in the same vein as "Traveler". I also like how you made characters from the other regions join the story. Oh, btw, is it just me looking a bit too far into it or did you just lay some base for future Rayshipping? Anyway, keep up the good work!**

 **-Traveler was my original inspiration for this story, though admittedly I've been wanting to write a Pokemon fanfic like this for forever. I think you've looked a bit too far into things because I haven't set the base for any Rayshipping, lol. Sorry! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Mayflowers123: I love how you write Ash and his thoughts! In the cartoon we only ever see the action parts and hardly, if ever, get a glimpse into the trainers mind. I also appreciate the more mature element Ash seems to possess. I only ask that you update soon, please?**

 **-Wish granted! I've wanted to write a smarter Ash for a while now, but it's been a tricky process developing that balance between his anime version and the OP versions I see all over the place on fan fiction. I think he's on the right track for now, but there are still some childish features to him seeing as the kid is, after all, only ten years old at the moment!**

 **Well, that's all of the review responses for now! I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and** **don't forget to review this one as well! Thank you for reading!**


	13. Vermillion Wrath

_Chapter Thirteen: Vermillion Wrath_

Ash had all of his stuff packed up the next morning so that he could hit the road again. There was still nearly a month before the St. Anne got into port and it would take him about a week or so to get to Vermillion. Once he was there, the plan was to train until it was time to depart. His team had gotten a fitful night's sleep and were already looking restless; he'd been woken up by a nervous Jasmine while Pyro and Sobek stared each other down.

He couldn't help but sigh, though it was to be expected. Pyro's evolution and subsequent display of power had Sobek absolutely _starving_ for a fight. The two of them were his main powerhouses and competition was fierce- no doubt Sobek wanted to find out where they stood now in terms of strength. There was bound to be a fight sooner or later, so he figured it would be best to nip that in the bud before things got out of hand.

Neither Pyro or Sobek were known for being especially patient.

The pair of them had started to growl in the back of their throats when Ash decided to cut it off there for now. "Enough you two. I'll let you fight it out once we get on the road, but not here. It would be bad if we blew up Professor Oak's lab."

They obeyed without complaint, though Ash could tell that both of his Pokemon were eager to run wild. He smiled at their enthusiasm and scratched Jasmine behind her ears when she seemed to sigh with relief. Apparently, waking up to a fight wasn't popular with her.

Eevee was currently relaxing on the bed beside Douse and Spectre, the latter of which had stolen Ash's cap (again) and was wearing it himself. Ash had a feeling he wouldn't be getting it back for a while and wondered on Spectre's odd habit of hijacking his cap, but it wasn't like he was hurting anybody by enjoying it now and again.

He heard a knock on his door and after calling for said individual to come in, Daisy came into the room with a cheery smile on her face. "Good morning, Ash. Feeling better?"

Ash nodded. "Everyone got a great night's sleep, Pyro and Sobek are ready to beat the snot out of each other, and we're feeling pretty hungry. I'd say everything's just peachy."

She giggled. "Well, I'll take you to breakfast. I was going to offer your Pokemon a meal as well if they're hungry?"

Daisy was immediately the subject of all eyes in the room, which locked onto her at the mention of food. Ash couldn't help but grin widely. "Remember that you offered when they eat you out of house and home."

"If they manage to eat all the food in the lab, then they must be part Snorlax," she laughed. "Come on, let's go before breakfast gets cold."

* * *

She hadn't been kidding when she said there was a lot of food to go around. Ash was tucking into his third helping while Pyro and Sobek devoured their fifth (it seemed they were starting their battle early by having an eating competition). Having already filled her belly, Eevee was sitting next to Ash at the table and took to watching her reptilian teammates stuff their faces with an expression of obvious disgust. Spectre had taken to floating around the large cafeteria and occasionally poking random scientists, much to their amusement. Douse was lying belly up in a food coma and seemed to be a little rounder than before now that his stomach was very much full.

Daisy actually had Jasmine's attention for the moment by feeding her Yache berries, which were apparently a favorite of dragon types. The small dragon absolutely adored Daisy for giving her those tasty treats and Ash found himself smiling at the sight of Jasmine being cheerful around another person.

"Oh my gosh, if you never left I would spoil you rotten forever," Daisy gushed as Jasmine happily ate another Yache berry. The Dratini made a happy trill and savored the treat as long as she could before prodding Daisy's hand for another. Ash sniggered a moment later when Jasmine made a completely unnecessary begging face that had the young researcher squealing in adoration, as though she thought the cute face was actually required for her to receive more of the delicious snacks.

If only Jasmine knew that Daisy would've spoiled her either way, though the ridiculously cute face she could make certainly didn't hurt the rate at which she was given treats.

To her delight, Jasmine was (of course), given another Yache berry and nibbled on it a little slower this time. Ash shook his head and smirked at Daisy. "You know, it's not fair that the rest of the team isn't getting special treats like that."

"I'll make sure to pack some for them before you go," Daisy promised. "We've got a lot of berries here specifically for certain types of Pokemon and there's definitely no shortage of them. Though I might add that it also involves their own personal preference. Not all dragon types like Yache berries, for instance. Some prefer Haban berries, which are a lot spicier. I didn't think your sweet girl here would like them though."

"I think you made the right call on that," he agreed. Jasmine certainly didn't seem like the type to enjoy spicy food, though he did wonder about Pyro…

"On another note," Daisy jarred him out of his train of thought and rummaged through a purse she had brought with her. "I brought your reward for helping us capture Aerodactyl and Rhydon. We get a lot of unique stones sent to us, and while I can't give you a fossil since they're strictly for research purposes, I _can_ offer these to you."

She presented him with two small, but fascinating stones. One was smooth and oval shaped, with gorgeous shades of blue running through it so that it resembled a gem of sorts. The other was yellow and seemed to be shaped like a small crown.

"This is a Water Stone," Daisy told him as she pointed to the blue gem that she had placed on the table. Her finger trailed to the crown-shaped stone next. "And this is a King's Rock. They're both evolution-inducing items for certain species of Pokemon; in this case, your Poliwhirl or Eevee."

Ash's eyes flicked towards Douse, who was still lying belly-up in a food coma and seemed to be blissfully unaware of the two valuable items that his trainer had been presented with. The Poliwhirl was without doubt one of his strongest Pokemon, right behind Pyro and Sobek. Evolution would definitely make him more powerful, but was it the right time to do so? And more importantly, what would he evolve into?

He glanced at Eevee next, who showed interest towards the Water Stone by hopping up onto the table itself and sniffing the sapphire crystal. Ash hadn't actually put a whole lot of thought into her future evolution because the possibilities were so vast. To his knowledge, there were at least eight different forms she had the potential to become; Jolteon, Flareon, Vaporeon, Espeon, Umbreon, Glaceon, Leafeon, and Sylveon. There might have been more, but after reading about those first eight, Ash had realized that just planning for each possible evolution would take up so much time and effort that he would have ended up neglecting the growth of her current form. Couple that with Eevee's fiercely independent personality and her own ambiguous preference towards evolution, and there was simply nothing he could do but wait for her to make the decision on her own.

She seemed to be considering the Water Stone for a few moments before leaping off the table and into his lap to curl up. That was pretty much a clear no on her part. She wanted to have her fur petted over evolving.

Across the table, Daisy smirked. "Well, that narrows your options down."

"It doesn't surprise me," he shrugged. "She likes baths, but she never shows any special interest towards water aside from that."

"Of course she likes baths, Ash! She's a lady!" She exclaimed. "Keeping herself clean is a big deal! I mean, I suppose that might be hard to understand for you rowdy boys…"

"Hey!" He protested.

She giggled in response. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But that's fine. We can focus on your Poliwhirl since she doesn't seem interested in evolving right now, okay?"

"I'm sure you're aware, but Poliwhirl has the potential to evolve into two different species," Daisy told him. "I'll give you a short lecture on them though, so that you know what your options are. Giving him the Water Stone will cause him to evolve into a Poliwrath. They're oriented towards physical attacks and gain the fighting type upon evolving, although their ranged moves are improved as well. Poliwrath are generally the more durable of the two options as well."

"If you give him the King's Rock, he'll evolve into Politoed. It's not quite as powerful as Poliwrath is physically, but it excels at attacking at range and can be a bit faster since its legs are designed for jumping. Also, Politoed have strong lungs and vocal cords that are perfect for blasting sound attacks at opponents, so moves like Hyper Voice and Perish Song will be available if you go that route."

Ash chewed his lip as he considered the options. Douse was a bit of a mixed fighter at the moment, with the capability to do damage close up and at range. Choosing one or the other would be tricky, but he himself was leaning more towards Poliwrath for its greater durability. Of course, it was Douse's choice in the end.

Daisy glanced towards the unconscious Douse. "It might be better to ask for his opinion. I can only afford to give you one of these, so you'll have to make your choice here."

He nodded and glanced towards the sleeping Poliwhirl. "Douse! Wake up! I need you over here for a minute."

Douse made a sleepy grunt as he was woken from what Ash assumed had been a pleasant dream. He kind of felt bad for that, but this was Douse's future they were talking about- it was too important to sleep away.

Douse agreed instantly when he got up and saw the two rare stones on the table. He couldn't seem to believe what was in front of him and bounced over to stare from the Water Stone to the King's Rock with wide, gleaming eyes. Ash had to smile at the eager expression on his friend's face.

"We can only pick one of them, buddy," he explained. "Which one do you want? The Water Stone or the King's Rock?"

The Poliwhirl looked torn. He seemed to want both, but even if he was able to have both stones, only one of them could be used to make him evolve. Evolutionary stones had a special type of energy stored within them that would react when they came into contact with a Poliwhirl or another species that had adapted to take advantage of said energy. The stones naturally absorbed power from their surroundings and once they peaked, could act as a conduit for any Pokemon that had the potential to receive from them.

Both Water Stones and King's Rocks were found in water or in places where there had been water, which was why Pokemon such as Poliwhirl or Slowpoke could use them to evolve. Water Stones were typically found in cold water, where they absorbed energy from the low-temperature liquid around them and stored it up. King's Rocks were slightly different- they were actually growths found on certain types of coral, which were more common in warmer, temperate waters.

This was the reason why Poliwrath was generally considered to be native to Kanto, which had colder lakes and oceans as opposed to Johto, where Politoed was found more frequently. The tidal currents between the two regions made colder water flow to the east and kept warmer waters in the west, which made Water Stones more common in Kanto and King's Rocks more common in Johto. Not to mention, the natural formation of Mt. Silver had a habit of shoving cooler climates in Kanto's direction.

Ash blinked when Douse prodded him and then pointed at one of the two special stones- the Water Stone.

He smiled. "Alright, then that's the one. Are you sure?"

Douse nodded eagerly and jumped up and down with enthusiastic croaking noises. Ash chuckled and set his hand on the damp skin of his friend's head. "You got it, buddy. I'll tell you what, when you get Hydro Pump down, we'll bring it out and let you evolve. Does that sound good?"

The Poliwhirl didn't hesitate to agree and seemed positively thrumming with energy. Ash had no doubt that using evolution as a reward would prompt Douse to put even more effort into mastering the stubborn water type move. By doing so, he hoped to maximize Douse's potential as a Poliwhirl before finally allowing him to evolve.

Daisy smiled and pocketed the King's Rock. "The Water Stone is yours, then. Allow me to express our thanks again- we couldn't have captured Aerodactyl or Rhydon without you, Ash. Your team has more than earned this."

"You're welcome, but thanks for the Water Stone as well," he replied graciously. "This'll definitely help Douse get even stronger. You'll get to see him in the Indigo League beating opponents left and right."

"I'm sure I will," she giggled. "Well, I'll go and pack some of our berries while you and your team finish up here. I'll see you soon!"

Ash nodded and carefully placed the Water Stone in his back, ensuring that it was safely cushioned by his clothing. He would have a heart attack if the stone was accidentally destroyed before Douse could use it.

* * *

Daisy and Baoba gave them a sendoff at the entrance gate of the lab, along with a bag full of berries for Ash's companions. He had since recalled most of his team with the exception of Eevee and Douse, the latter of which was too energetic to seek refuge in his pokeball. Ash could hardly blame him since the prospect of evolution had come along, so maybe it was a good thing that he could spend some time outside and get the energy out of his system.

Before he knew it, they were back on the road again. Halfway through the day, they stopped as usual for lunch and training.

Eevee had taken a seat in the grass beside Ash while he went over the notes in his Pokedex for the training session. Her eyes were fixed on Douse as he bounced around them, practically skipping with excitement. She stared at the normally stoic water type with an odd expression, unused to seeing him acting like an overenthusiastic child. Ash smiled at her when she looked back up to him with a confused face.

"Seeing Douse so excited is kind of new, huh?" He asked her.

Eevee nodded and felt her eyes trail back to the bouncing Poliwhirl. She couldn't recall ever seeing him like this before. Of course Douse had shown eagerness and excitement in their travels, but this was just absurd. She stopped in her tracks when he actually sprayed a little fountain into the air, followed by a stream of bubbles.

What _even_ was this childish tadpole? She kind of hoped this didn't mean he would take to frequent immaturity like the rest of their male companions…

Speaking of which…

Pyro and Sobek were already eye-to-eye and growling, ready to tear it up. Eevee was only mildly interested in seeing them beat each other into oblivion because that meant things would get quiet once they were done. Her eyes trailed upwards where Spectre was floating amidst Douse's random bubbles and popping them at his leisure. At least he wasn't pranking anyone.

Jasmine was coiled up next to her while they watched the boys go about their antics. She had her head tilted to the side with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. Clearly, such rowdiness was still something she was getting used to after living on her own in the Safari Zone.

She let Eevee know this with a small trill, to which the latter replied with a yawn. If the boys went too far, it was perfectly acceptable to rebuke them by blasting them with an attack. Jasmine didn't seem sure of that solution seeing how much bigger and stronger the males were, (well, most of them) but Eevee assured her that they wouldn't dare to defend their own tomfoolery if they messed up.

Besides, if they tried anything stupid, Eevee was perfectly fine with blasting them in Jasmine's place.

The conversation ended as Ash stood up, briefly stretched, and called to the rambunctious members of his team. "Hey, guys! We're going to start training now!"

A cacophony of loud, eager noises answered him as the males rushed over. Eevee rolled her eyes, but got up nonetheless with Jasmine. Pyro, Sobek, Douse, and Spectre joined them in seconds as Ash cleared his throat.

"Okay, first thing's first- Pyro and Sobek are gonna have a practice match so I can figure out what Pyro can do now. After that, we'll be working on improving your moves, then we'll try another round of sparring with everyone involved. Sound good?"

Of course, there were no arguments. The two Pokemon which Ash had named first were already leering at each other again, though now Pyro was taller than Sobek by at least a foot and a half. It was kind of comical seeing that Sobek was just as arrogant and eager to fight even though his opponent was now much bigger than him.

Ash and the rest of the team retreated a bit so that their friends could have room to rumble. He made sure he had their attention, then yelled out clearly. "Go!"

Pyro's wings thrust downward strongly to propel his body towards Sobek while his claws flexed. The Krokorok responded by roaring and smashing his fist into the ground, launching blades of stone at his opponent. To his surprise, the Stone Edge was effortlessly slashed into pieces by a Metal Claw which cut through like a hot knife through butter. Sobek dove underground quickly and managed to avoid a subsequent Fire Fang as Pyro bit at the spot where he'd been standing a moment before.

He didn't stay underground for long, though- Sobek immediately jumped out of the hole and ended up on Pyro's back, where he gnashed a Thunder Fang into the Charizard's shoulder. Pyro roared with fury and reached over to grab Sobek by the nose, then forcefully yanked him off and threw him down hard. He was torn off so quickly that a tooth was left stuck in Pyro's scales.

The impact momentarily knocked the breath out of Sobek, leaving him stunned for a second as Pyro leaped back a ways to suck in a mouthful of air and exhale a powerful Flamethrower. The Krokorok barely had time to clench his claws on the ground and cause another blade of stone to erupt in order to protect himself from the flames. While the Stone Edge managed to redirect the attack, Sobek was caught off-guard again as Pyro blasted through his shield with another Metal Claw and was on him before he could react.

Pyro drove a Brick Break into Sobek's stomach and made the Krokorok release a choking roar of pain. Despite the damage, Sobek still bit down harshly on the offending arm and generated a surge of electricity in his maw, but it wasn't enough to really hurt Pyro. The Charizard winced from pain, but it only served to anger him as he lifted his arm back up with Sobek still attached, then lunged back down and rammed his opponent into the ground with the raw force of a Mega Punch.

The blow was enough to partially embed Sobek into the ground and knock him out cold with his jaws open mid-snarl.

Ash openly gaped at the result of the fight. He knew Pyro had gotten stronger since evolving, but that was ridiculous. Sobek had been beaten in just a few short minutes. The rest of the team also looked utterly surprised by how brief the battle was, and even Pyro seemed bewildered that it was already over.

The boy grabbed a potion and Oran berries, then walked over to the unconscious form of Sobek while Pyro stood by awkwardly, apparently unsure of what to do now. Ash ran the fight through his mind for a few moments while he treated the dark type. Pyro had gone straight in for an up-close fight and Sobek had tried to match him with his usual battle style, but brute force had done nothing against the newly-evolved Charizard. Sobek was still acting like he was fighting a Charmeleon instead of its evolved form, probably because he hadn't expected the gap in power to be that wide.

It didn't seem odd to Ash that Sobek had lost once he realized that. Sobek had underestimated his adversary and assumed his common tactics would be just as effective as they were before, but the reality was that Pyro was much stronger than he'd been as a Charmeleon. Even without considering that he could fly now, his firepower, speed, and physical might had been enhanced beyond any of their expectations.

Once he finished treating Sobek, Ash stood up and smiled at his starter. "Good job, Pyro. You've gotten a lot stronger, for sure."

Pyro straightened and lifted his chin to make a proud growl, pleased that Ash was impressed by his newfound strength. He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder then and looked down to find the boy had his hand on Sobek's tooth, still embedded in his scales. "Let's get this out. I don't want that to get infected."

The task was done quickly and with only a brief amount of pain, then Ash sprayed the bleeding injury with the potion and gave Pyro an Oran berry to recover his strength.

By then, Sobek had awoken and rose, a little wobbly, to his feet. He shook his head and stared at Pyro with a dumbfounded face once he realized that he'd lost so quickly. Pyro merely shrugged and swished his long tail a little uncertainly. How were they going to train now that he was so much stronger than the others?

Fortunately, Ash was already on that and he had an idea that he wanted to think on while the rest of the team got their training in. "Okay, that was a little faster than I thought it would be, but I want you all to split into pairs and start training. Focus on improving the moves you've been learning recently and I'll come by to check on you as we go. Understood?"

His team jerked out of their surprise and acknowledged him quickly, then began to follow Ash's orders. Pyro was quickly distracted from his uncertainty by Spectre, who floated over and queried if the Charizard could help him work on learning Will-O-Wisp. With a nod, he led the small ghost a ways off to practice their fire type moves.

Ash watched his team start to train while he thought about how to handle Pyro's increased power in their training battles. It would be pointless if he put Pyro in a one-on-one fight against any of the other members at this stage- unless they got really crafty with their battle styles, he was just too overpowering for them to defeat. Sobek was the strongest Pokemon he had after Pyro and he'd been bested easily, which meant the rest of his team stood basically no chance of delivering an attack powerful enough to beat the Charizard.

He was thinking that a solution would be to pit Pyro against multiple opponents at once for a few reasons; for one, it would even the odds a fair bit and would allow his other Pokemon to work on their teamwork. That was valuable experience for later group battles. Moreover, fighting a variety of opponents at once would hopefully make Pyro get used to his new form faster.

Pyro's wings were a part of his new body that needed to be worked on. From what Ash could tell, he was acting purely on instinct- in the battle against Rhydon and Aerodactyl, Pyro had only performed the most basic of aerial maneuvers and won mostly through his newfound power and the element of surprise. Against Sobek, he'd used his wings simply as a propulsion device to charge along the ground, never mind the air. He needed to practice flying if he was going to take full advantage of them in battle.

He nodded to himself once he finished thinking that through and made a few notes in his PokeNav for future reference. Once that was done, he began to do his rounds with the team, eager to get them back into training.

* * *

"Douse, Hydro Pump!" Ash commanded.

The Poliwhirl reared back and then discharged a huge volume of water at his target- Sobek. It was starting to look more focused, but the move still didn't do a lot of damage for the time being. Moreover, Douse always got exhausted whenever he used it, although the strain was starting to become less evident. He was definitely making progress.

Ash nodded. "Good job, buddy. Keep working on it."

Douse grunted in response, his round body going slack as he recovered from using the enormously taxing technique. He wouldn't stay down for long though- the Water Stone sitting in Ash's backpack so tantalizingly close had doubled his motivation to master Hydro Pump, and Ash hadn't even moved on to the next member of the team before Douse stood back up and blasted the Krokorok again with another attempt.

He was getting better at it.

Sobek had actually volunteered to be the target for Douse to practice on, which only surprised the Poliwhirl and Ash for a short time. After being so easily defeated by Pyro, the Krokorok apparently wanted to work on bolstering his defenses and resistance to super effective attacks. He looked very much out of character standing there, soaking wet and slightly shivering, but Ash couldn't deny he was impressed by the fortitude Sobek demonstrated, especially since he'd never done training like this before.

His eyes squeezed shut as the next blast of Hydro Pump crashed into him, pushing him back a few feet despite his claws digging into the now-muddy ground. He emerged from the attack even more soaked than before, but bared his fangs and glared at Douse moments later with a roar. Despite being thoroughly pissed off and feeling miserable in all the water, he wanted the Poliwhirl to hit him again. Motivation was traded back and forth as Sobek goaded his partner to attack him again while Douse encouraged Sobek to take another blast.

Ash would be the first to call it off if things were taken too far, but they were doing well for the time being.

He made his way towards Eevee and Jasmine next, who were working on enhancing their power. Both of them were strong in their own right, but they didn't necessarily match up to the big guns of Ash's team right now, those being Pyro and Sobek. Jasmine was probably about Douse's level at the moment with her versatility and greater speed. Eevee had the same speed, but not as much versatility or power, although no one could deny that her Shadow Balls _hurt_.

The pair were currently blasting a pair of stone targets that Sobek had erected for them with everything they had. Eevee was firing off Swift attacks almost nonstop and Jasmine had been trying to melt her target with the newly-learned Flamethrower. The two girls of his team were giving it their all and pumping each other up whenever one or the other faltered. He couldn't help but grin as Eevee's Swift finally destroyed her target, prompting a congratulatory trill from Jasmine before the dragon returned to blasting her stone with renewed vigor.

Eevee was panting, but she looked very pleased with her success and yowled a second later at Sobek. The Krokorok had just been hit by another Hydro Pump and took a moment from his endurance training to roar furiously, then spun around and smashed his fist into the soggy earth beneath him. Another, bigger stone erupted in front of Eevee, presenting her with a new object to attack while Sobek got a brief chance to take his anger out on something by demolishing what was left of her first target.

Ash's eyes trailed next to where Pyro and Spectre were training on the edge of the group. His starter was growling something to the small ghost, who was hovering close to the dragon's head and listening silently. Ash had a feeling they were trying to figure out how to teach Spectre Will-O-Wisp, which was probably going to present some challenges. All of the fire type moves his team could use generated flames from some part of their body. Manifesting fire into thin air was a slightly different process that would likely take a bit of work.

But he did have an idea of how they could pull it off.

"Hey, you two," Ash got the pair's attention as he walked over to them. "Getting started on Will-O-Wisp?"

Pyro nodded and grunted with a perplexed expression. He was clearly having difficulty trying to teach a move that was fundamentally different than anything else he knew. The only thing Pyro could really do was helping Spectre to harness fire type energy.

Will-O-Wisp was generally used as a way to burn opponents. The flames it produced were small and couldn't do a lot of damage to those that came into contact with them, but they were incredibly hot and would usually leave a Pokemon with a painful burn. There was potential to use them as a direct attack, however- Ash had read in the Pokedex that advanced users of Will-O-Wisp could increase the size of the technique and cause the fireballs to explode upon contact. It wouldn't match something of the same caliber as Pyro's Flamethrower, but it certainly would hurt.

"I know it's a bit different from our usual fire type moves, so maybe we should approach it differently as well," he began. At the curious looks his Pokemon were giving him, Ash glanced at Spectre. "Form up a Shadow Ball real quick."

Spectre blinked his single red eye, but did as instructed. Ash felt a spark of pride at how quickly the Shadow Ball was created- it had taken lots of hard work for Spectre to really get that down. Now he was almost as good at making them as Eevee was, though he still wasn't quite equal to her level of power.

"Good. Now try to mass together some fire type energy the same way," Ash explained. "The Pokedex information I read makes the way Will-O-Wisp is formed sound like a fire type version of Shadow Ball. So maybe if you try making one just like you make a Shadow Ball, it won't give you as much trouble."

Their eyes lit up at that and Spectre made an eager sound. He made a hollow noise in Pyro's direction and the Charizard responded by breathing out a small tongue of flame onto the Shadow Ball. Spectre's eye narrowed as he tried to feel and maintain the fire type energy around his ghost type move. The flame wavered for a few seconds before going out.

Ash still felt like it was progress. The change in thinking could be exactly what they needed for Spectre to learn Will-O-Wisp. That brought him one step closer to being a real threat in battle, and Ash hoped that if they made more progress like this, that the Duskull might be ready to face off against Sabrina's psychic types when the time came.

But that was still a long way off. For now, they had to work hard to win the upcoming St. Anne tournament.

* * *

He chewed his lip nervously as he stared across the large clearing. Ash wasn't sure how he felt about this.

Pyro needed to learn how to fly on more than just instinct. He needed to get into the air and figure out how to maneuver swiftly and accurately. If he couldn't manage that, his massive wings wouldn't be much of an asset. So they'd made a stop here in order to give him a chance to practice. Depending on how he fared, Ash was going to pit him against three members of the team so that he could further get used to his new body.

They'd been on the road for a couple of days since leaving Professor Oak's lab. Training had been going well, with progression moving slower or faster for different members of the team. But it was high time that Ash got Pyro on the right track.

The Charizard glanced at him and Ash nodded. "Alright, you're up. I'm not sure what you should do, just try to keep your altitude low and don't get crazy in the air until you get a better feel for it."

Pyro nodded back, then took a few steps into the clearing until he had a fair amount of space between him and the surrounding trees. Eevee was standing back with Ash, watching as their friend began treading into unknown territory for all of them.

Pyro's wings spread wide and he gave a few experimental flaps to stretch them out. Once he was satisfied, the Charizard got into a slight run before flapping down strongly to push himself up. With a few rough, fast surges of the enormous wings, he was in the air. Ash saw the fire type glide for a short distance before pushing himself up higher, but he cringed when Pyro's claws brushed the top of a tree.

The boy and his Eevee watched as Pyro banked slightly to turn, wobbling a fair bit to stay balanced. Ash's eyes followed the Charizard while he experienced his first flight, messy though it was. The shakiness, balancing problems, and rough flaps made it obvious that Pyro was struggling to find his natural rhythm. This was definitely going to take time and practice. There would be no mass battles yet.

"Pyro!" Ash called up to him. The Charizard jerked his head towards the trainer, who continued. "Come down!"

Ash's heart lurched as Pyro attempted just that far more quickly than was safe and practically dropped out of the air about fifteen feet up. He slammed feet-first into the ground and staggered, tripped, then face planted into the dirt with a surprised yelp. The boy ran over to his starter as the fire type pushed himself back onto his feet.

"Are you okay?" Ash demanded.

Pyro did a slow spin in place as he carefully looked himself over to make sure nothing was out of place. He flexed the claws on his toes to make sure nothing was broken and nodded at last. Ash was relieved until he saw a trickle of blood running down the Charizard's mouth.

He lifted his hand up and set it on the scaly lower jaw. "Open up."

Doing as instructed, Pyro opened his maw wide and Ash winced at the broken fang on the upper left side. The missing half in question was tucked under the fire type's tongue and he removed it. Ash eyed the remnants of the broken fang and sighed. Pyro's natural lining of fresh teeth would soon replace it, but that had to come out before it caused him too much pain.

"I gotta pull this tooth, buddy," he told the Charizard. "It's going to hurt for a second, but it'll hurt a lot worse later if I don't get it out now."

Pyro let out a low groan, but he complied without question. Ash reached into the Charizard's mouth with his right hand, gripped the tooth firmly, and yanked down as hard as he could. The broken fang came out cleanly, but the sting made Pyro flinch and jerk away as it came out. His jaw smacked into Ash's hand the wrong way and the splintered fang pierced through the boy's glove and into his hand.

Ash yelled in pain and grabbed his wrist with his left hand, falling to a crouch and hissing as his eyes watered. It was deep- the broken tooth was embedded in his right palm and it hurt terribly. Eevee darted over with a low cry as Pyro shook the pain from his jaw and realized that his partner was injured. The two Pokemon hovered over Ash as he grit his teeth and let out a pained moan.

"Pyro," he forced out through his teeth. "Bag. Left pocket. Bandages. Now."

The Charizard looked incredibly guilt-ridden as he shifted behind Ash and tried to open said pocket. Problem was, his big claws weren't suited to the task of delicately pulling on a zipper, so it only made Ash's body shift and send fresh waves of pain through him. "Stop, stop! Eevee, you try it. Just use your teeth and don't move it that much."

Pyro backed off as Eevee stepped in and pulled the pocket's zipper down with her teeth to open it up. She carefully stuck her head inside and bit down on the first wrap of bandages she found, pulling it out slowly so that she didn't move Ash more than was necessary. Once she had them, she moved around to the front of the boy and laid them down on the ground.

Ash gave her a brief nod as thanks because the broken tooth jammed in his palm was killing him. He took a deep breath and shakily gripped the fang as firmly as he could. His eyes squeezed shut and he made a mental count of three before rapidly pulling it out.

Fresh pain lanced up his arm and he mentally swore over and over again, repeating words that would have caused his mother to ground him for months. He managed to get his glove off with a quick yank and another groan, then grabbed the bandages and tried to messily wrap his bleeding hand. But he was shaking too much and he couldn't see clearly through his watering eyes.

"Guys, help," he managed. "Just wrap it up. It doesn't have to be perfect."

Pyro leaned down and gently gripped his trainer's wrist, using one of his clawed fingers to hold down the tip of the bandages while Eevee used her teeth to delicately wrap the wound. It hurt every time she set a new layer over it, but he was gradually able to get himself under control by breathing slowly.

Finally, it had been wrapped enough and most of the initial pain was gone, so Ash tied it off with one last wince. He sighed and slowly fell back into the grass. "Well, that hurt."

He glanced to the side and saw the offending bit of tooth that had caused them so much trouble gleaming in the sunlight. Pyro and Eevee hovered over him with concerned expressions. Ash looked up at them. "I'm okay now."

Eevee chittered softly at her trainer. Pyro looked away and made a small sound to apologize for causing Ash pain, feeling more guilty than he could ever remember. The Charizard glanced back at Ash as the boy lifted his good hand up to touch the corner of his jaw and wipe away the fading trail of blood.

Ash grinned. "We gotta work on your landings, buddy."

Pyro couldn't help but snort and growled agreement, relieved that Ash wasn't upset with him. It had been an accident that they'd both suffered from. He'd make sure that it wouldn't happen again.

Eevee just rolled her eyes and shook her head. Boys.

* * *

Ash couldn't help but sigh in relief when he reached Vermillion City. It had been a long two weeks getting to his destination, and at last he'd made it. Now he had two more weeks to rest up and train his team before the St. Anne got into port and was ready to be boarded.

"Pyro!" Ash called towards the sky. He waited a few moments before there was a whoosh of air, and then the Charizard was descending close by, slowly lowering himself until he was just a few feet off the ground. He touched down with only a slight fumble and a mild grunt of annoyance, but otherwise his landing was good. It was a lot better than the first one.

Pyro had been flying overhead while Ash travelled on foot. It gave him a chance to stretch his wings and work on his aerodynamics, which were slowly improving as the days passed. They'd had a few crash landings since the first time, but thankfully none were quite as disastrous. Ash also realized that his wings needed a lot of conditioning to catch up with the rest of his trained limbs- Pyro had only been able to fly that first day for half an hour before he was exhausted. The time he could fly was gradually getting longer, but he was still restricted to just under an hour of powered flight.

The Charizard was breathing pretty heavily after making the last stretch to Vermillion, but he made a proud roar as Ash smiled at him. The boy then recalled his starter and made straight for the Pokemon Center. Ash's team had been training hard on the road and they needed to get a check up before he started grilling them again. Also, his palm needed to get checked out by an actual doctor. He didn't think it had gotten infected over the last week or so, but it hurt enough that he'd swapped hands when it came to releasing and recalling his Pokemon.

That had made for some very inaccurate throws and a lot of embarrassment and fumbling on his part. Also, he needed to get a new pair of gloves seeing as his right one had a fairly large slice right through the middle of the palm. Not to mention that he still had to meet with Lt. Surge and find out how Pikachu was doing.

There was lots to do.

* * *

"Hmm…" Nurse Joy frowned as she looked over his sliced palm. It had scabbed over in the last few days and he'd replaced the bandages a few times, but even Ash had to wince at the angry red coloring surrounding the wound. It looked jagged and certainly hurt enough so that he could barely close his hand into a fist.

"Well, there's a mild infection," she finally said. "I can't tell how deep it is, but I would have recommended stitches if you hadn't been out in the wilderness when it happened. How did this happen?"

"My Charizard broke a tooth in a rough landing and I had to pull out what was left of it by hand," he told her. "But he got startled when it came out and accidentally jerked my hand the wrong way."

Joy pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. "Since it was a necessary precaution, I won't call you a complete fool. But don't make a habit of it. People aren't nearly as durable as Pokemon, and if your Charizard had taken a bite instead, you would be missing at least a finger or two."

He nodded. "I wasn't planning on it. He only recently evolved and we've been trying to ease him into flying. He just had trouble sticking the landing at first."

"It's not uncommon for them to crash frequently when they first get their wings," Joy admitted. "I'm glad he wasn't hurt worse. But remember that Charizard will eventually grow his lost teeth back. Even if he has to go through some pain for a few days, it's better than you getting your hand bitten off. Last I checked, human anatomy doesn't allow us to regenerate lost limbs."

Ash winced at that. Pyro would never have lived it down if something that bad had happened to Ash on his account. He'd be too guilt-ridden to look his trainer in the eye ever again.

"Anyways, I'll disinfect this for you and get a fresh bandage on it. You're lucky it wasn't any deeper or there might have been nerve damage," she remarked. "As it stands, it's going to leave quite a scar."

He was fine with that. A scar was okay as long as he didn't have permanent damage to his hand. Although that didn't make his injury sting any less when Nurse Joy applied rubbing alcohol to the deep cut.

* * *

Once he was cleared by Nurse Joy and his Pokemon were finished with their check-up, Ash made his way to the local Pokemon Mart and got himself a new pair of black, fingerless gloves as well as a big fireproof blanket for Pyro's tail flame. The small one he had now was just barely enough to keep the flame from burning anything and it certainly wouldn't help if Pyro shifted at some point int he night. This larger one would hopefully fix that problem.

With those necessary tasks completed, the boy made straight for the Vermillion City gym. He needed to meet with Lt. Surge and catch up on Pikachu's rehabilitation.

And just catch up with Pikachu in general.

The gym itself had a line of trainers going out the door, all clamoring to battle. Ash would've bet his bottom dollar that each and every one of them was trying to get last-minute tickets for the St. Anne now that the word had spread about Surge handing them out to victorious challengers. Fortunately, he wasn't here for a gym battle- or at least, that was the idea.

Ash made to walk past the line and towards the entrance when one of the waiting trainers yelled at him. "Hey! No cutting in line, you stupid kid! If you want to win a badge and one of the tickets, you better get on your knees and beg one of the real trainers for them!"

He glared at the guy with an annoyed expression. "I'm not here for a fight, you jerk. Besides, I already defeated Surge and got my ticket."

"Sure you did, little boy," the rude trainer sneered. "Then what are you doing here if you don't want to battle?"

"Ah, there you are!"

Ash glanced towards the gym entrance when the massive frame of Lt. Surge walked outside, grinning at him widely as he strolled over. "Sup, kid! Was wondering when you were gonna get here!"

The sight of the electric Gym Leader had the line of trainers clamoring even more intensely. They were yelling and demanding battles to the point that Surge gave them all the evil eye and roared at the top of his lungs. "SHUT UP!"

His commanding tone, honed from years of military work immediately quieted the frantic crowd. Surge grunted with annoyance. "You brats go train or something for a while. I've got an important meeting to attend with my client, and then I'm getting lunch. I won't be back for an hour at least."

The responding groans and obnoxiously loud protests only served to piss Surge off. He glared at the dozens of trainers and growled a low, but crystal clear order. "Listen to me _very_ _carefully_. I'm going to count to _ten_ and if _any_ of you are _still_ here, I am going to _electrocute_ you until your nerves get fried."

That made a lot of them hesitate. The trainer that had initially yelled at Ash was dumb enough to arch an eyebrow cockily and smirk. "Really?"

Surge damn near popped a vein.

 **"** **ONE!"**

The arrogant trainer jumped straight into the air and took off running before he could respond, leading the crowd of scrambling, terrified trainers far away from the menace that was Lieutenant Surge. In five seconds flat, the gym entrance was quiet again.

Surge huffed in exasperation. "Damn punks don't know when to quit. You'd think after all the trainers I send crying out of my gym that they'd stop coming in droves, but no! I barely have a moment of quiet to myself these days. Shitty brats."

Ash was smart enough to hide the little smile that appeared on his face at the sight of the irritated Gym Leader. The man in question then looked at him and grinned conspiratorially. "Thanks for volunteering to be my escape from the mob. Now, hows about we grab your mouse and get something to eat at the Pokemon Center?"

"Sounds good to me," he replied.

They went into the gym then and Ash felt no surprise upon seeing Surge's Raichu and a couple of other electric types being fed by the Gym Leader's underlings. He didn't see Pikachu immediately though, because his attention was taken by the hulking behemoth in the middle of the battlefield currently fixing him with a curious stare. The Pokemon was bipedal and had an impressive, muscular build. It had yellow fur covering its entire body with thick bands of black on its arms, legs, torso, and head. A pair of horns shaped like lightning rods rested atop its head and twin black tails with red tips swished slowly behind it.

Surge grinned upon seeing Ash mesmerized by his Pokemon. "You like him, eh? That's Zeus. He's my Electivire."

"Electivire," Ash repeated. He watched as Zeus casually smashed his fists together and generated a shock wave that spread through the room, setting his hairs on end. The Electivire had a wide grin on his face that matched his trainer's and Ash could tell immediately that he held an enormous amount of power. Zeus was probably Surge's ace Pokemon, like Giovanni's Rhyperior or Sabrina's fabled Alakazam.

"You're no match for him as you are now," Surge told the boy. "Zeus is the guy I call in when the other Gym Leaders feel like throwing down for real. He's strong enough to give some of the Elite Four's Pokemon a run for their money."

Ash believed him. Surge was fond of boasting, but he was not the type to exaggerate a Pokemon's strengths. Whether they were weak or strong, he would say it outright, but he wouldn't embellish any further than was necessary. He was straightforward like that. If Surge went as far as to name his ace Pokemon after a lightning god, Ash didn't doubt for a second that Zeus lived up to his name.

"Now, where's the rodent we're looking for?" Surge grumbled. "Raichu! Where's the invalid?"

Raichu took a break from its dinner to glance up and down the line of feasting Pokemon for a moment before it jabbed a paw to the end on the left, then returned to eating. Ash followed its direction with his heart beating a little faster than normal to find two Pikachu eating together.

Surge's loud yell had gotten their attention and Ash knew exactly which one was his. Not because his Pikachu's tail shape was different to identify him as male as opposed to the female beside him, or because of the large, jagged scar marring the front of his torso, but because that mischievous gleam in his eyes was still the same.

Pikachu was already snickering as he began bolting to his trainer, only for Surge's female Pikachu to block his path with an irritated look on her face. It looked like his Pikachu was being scolded for something. Ash blinked in confusion while the Gym Leader beside him began to chuckle.

"He ain't allowed to run quite yet. He got the bandages off a couple of days ago, but he's still gotta take it easy to avoid wrenching something the wrong way. The healing process for a wound like that takes time," Surge explained while his electric type continued to scold Ash's Pikachu for going against the doctor's orders. Frankly, Pikachu looked irritated with his restrictions, but he obeyed his fellow electric mouse and padded over to Ash more slowly than before.

Ash knelt down and lifted the first Pokemon he'd ever captured into his arms, hugging Pikachu to him firmly, but gently. "Hey, buddy. I missed you a lot."

Pikachu's ears twitched in response and he nuzzled his trainer. Ash felt a small, electric current run through his skin, but he frowned when it was hardly enough to raise the hairs on his arms. When he looked down, Pikachu was pouting and almost looked tired.

Surge arched an eyebrow at the electric type in Ash's arms. "He tried to shock you?"

"I-I think so?" Ash's frown deepened. "Pikachu?"

Pikachu nodded, though his little arms were crossed and he seemed annoyed. Ash would've bet his bottom dollar that the shock had been an attempt at a prank. But that was it?

"It's only been a month since he was injured, so his electrical reserves are still next to nothing," Surge admitted. "Frankly, I'm surprised he has electricity to spare at all. That being said, he shouldn't be wasting it on pranks. He doesn't have that luxury right now."

"You heard him, Pikachu," Ash told the mouse. "Take it easy. You can prank us all later when you feel better."

Pikachu grumbled at that and Ash could only smile, albeit a little sadly. The electric type's mischief was a part of who he was. It wasn't going to be easy for him in the coming months when he wouldn't be able to electrocute anyone.

He ran his fingers through Pikachu's short fur, petting the mouse while he looked at Surge. "How's he doing? Has he been healing alright?"

The ex-soldier started to recite Pikachu's medical history from memory. "He's done pretty good so far. Like I said, he only just got the bandages off a couple of days ago, but he's still on a medication to keep his immune system going strong. He's had regular checkups with Joy and his appetite was low when he first got out of the intensive care unit, so he's a bit underweight at the moment. It's nothing drastic though. He's been eating better over the last week and I expect he'll be back to a healthy weight before too long."

"As for his electrical abilities, I haven't gotten to officially start rehab with him because of how long it took for that injury to heal up. He's been able to consume small amounts of electrical energy- I mean like a AAA battery's worth- but he can't store or discharge any of it very well. Joy performed a scan on him the other day and confirmed that his electrical organs have regained their charge currents, which is great because that means they healed correctly. The problem now is increasing the amount of electricity that those organs can generate without pushing things too far or too fast."

Ash's arms tightened slightly around his Pokemon. "That sounds really difficult."

Surge nodded. "It's not an easy regime to handle, even for me. Back in the Cipher Wars, I had to do rehab with a whole range of electric types that suffered injuries like his. The success rate back then for a full recovery was barely 30% because we usually didn't have the tech or medical equipment in the field to handle catastrophic damage to their electrical organs. I myself have a Pokemon from those days that never fully recovered her electric abilities."

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

The Gym Leader shrugged. "She's fine. She had her fair share of fighting in the Cipher Wars. Now she can kick back, relax, and watch the rest of us whoop ass. Plus I trained her to fight without electricity, so she's not helpless if she has to battle."

"But back to your mouse. Since I'm not worried about being called back to the front lines anytime soon, I can focus my efforts on his rehabilitation. It shouldn't be too much trouble, though it'll still take some time to make sure he's back to normal by the end of it all."

Ash nodded to himself a couple of times as he processed that. Pikachu still had a long road ahead of him, but at least his recovery so far had been smooth sailing.

"C'mon, let's go get something to eat," Surge grunted, jolting Ash out of his thoughts. "I'm starving. You can bring your mouse as long as he doesn't do anything stupid."

* * *

Lunch at the Pokemon Center was fairly quick because Surge apparently wanted to see Ash's team. Once they'd both eaten their fill, the two trainers went out back to the practice field, where the boy set Pikachu on the ground gently and smiled at him.

"Ready to see everyone, buddy? A lot's changed since the last time you saw the whole team," Ash mentioned casually. Pikachu grinned widely and nodded, his bolt-shaped tail swishing side to side with anticipation.

Ash grabbed his pokeballs and set each member of his team loose one by one. Pyro was first, flexing his wings and tail while he spat a gout of flame into the air. He was followed by Sobek of course, who let out a roar in an effort to one-up his fire type teammate. Eevee was next, as calm and cool as ever, then Douse appeared with a bounce and a happy grunt. Spectre came next and simply took to floating around Pyro's head, then Ash set Jasmine loose last. The Dratini slithered over to Eevee and made a low coo, to which Eevee responded with soft chitters.

He got their attention quickly. "Hey guys, look who's here."

His team followed Ash's gaze to find Pikachu snickering, obviously pleased to see all of his old traveling companions. Pyro, Sobek, and Spectre immediately rushed over to him with sounds of delight. Douse followed them a bit more slowly and Eevee hung back with Jasmine since the Dratini seemed bewildered. It took him a moment to remember that Jasmine and Pikachu hadn't met yet.

Ash walked over to the confused dragon and patted her scaly head. "That's Pikachu, Jasmine. He was the first Pokemon I ever captured. He's been staying in Vermillion for a little while now because he got hurt before we met you."

Jasmine's eyes cleared in understanding and she swished her tail eagerly. Ash noticed that she was usually a lot more accepting of strangers if they were members of the team. Even though she hadn't met Pikachu prior to this, she actually looked pleased to see him.

Oh, if only she knew what Pikachu was capable of.

Eevee was fully aware of the electric type's pranking ways and merely watched while Pikachu got caught up with the rest of the team. He was currently perched on Pyro's shoulder and seemed to be admiring the Charizard's massive frame, though he held a conversation easily with Sobek, Spectre, and Douse at the same time. While Jasmine slithered over to introduce herself, Eevee glanced up at Ash with a question in her eyes.

He knelt down beside her and scratched her furry ears. "What's up, girl?"

She glanced towards Pikachu and then back at Ash, tilting her head slightly. The boy was pretty sure he got what she was asking and answered her as best he could. "He's staying here so that he can heal better. We're just visiting until it's time to board the St. Anne. But when he's done with rehab, then he'll join us again."

Eevee processed that for a short while before nodding slowly and turning her head back to observe her team once again. Pikachu was now speaking with Jasmine, all sunshine and smiles while the Dratini's tail curled and she trilled back replies. Eevee's eyes were drawn to the large, jagged scar across Pikachu's stomach and her ears twitched uneasily. She hadn't seen him when he was injured, so she'd had no idea what to expect upon meeting him again, but that was quite the wound. It was amazing to her that he was still alive- in the wild, Pikachu would surely have died many times over.

She was jerked out of her thoughts as Pyro and the others came over to her with their recovering friend in town. The Charizard let Pikachu slide down his back and tail to reach the ground safely, then stepped back so that the two could meet face to face.

Pikachu was still grinning and asked how Eevee was, to which she replied simply that she had been content. Her eyes trailed once again to the large scars as she tried to fathom what was capable of such a thing, only for Pikachu to snicker and make some comment about her staring at him. Maybe she thought he looked rather dashing?

Eevee's thoughts went from concern and straight to annoyance, as shown by the deadpan expression on her face. Only in this arrogant little rat's dreams would she ever think such a thing.

He was lucky that she couldn't blast him.

Meanwhile, Surge was grinning at the array of Ash's Pokemon. "Not bad, kid! The Charizard looks pretty good. I don't know much about the Duskull, but where'd you get your hands on a Dratini? Damn things are rare as can be."

Ash smiled. "Charizard actually evolved just a couple of weeks ago. I caught Duskull back in Lavender Town and I got Dratini in Fuchsia's Safari Zone, but Eevee was the one who really found her."

"They've got the makings of a badass team," Surge whistled. "If you catch a few more to help cover other types, you'll have a pretty good spread there to counter enemy Pokemon. You're probably already aware, but right now your team overall has a pretty big weakness to water types. Since Pikachu ain't capable of fighting now, you don't really have a way to beat them down. I suppose your Poliwhirl and Dratini have a bit of resistance to water type moves, but they don't offer much for a solid counter at the moment."

The Gym Leader definitely had a point. Ash already knew that his team held a weakness to water and he intended to address that as soon as he could, but for now his mind was focused on his team improving their moves. Once they got that covered, he would start working a bit more on diversity to cover type weaknesses.

"Also, you should take terrain into account when you're looking for another team member," Surge muttered as an afterthought.

Ash frowned. "Terrain?"

"Well, yeah. Your Charizard or Krokorok ain't gonna be much help if you're fighting on a water field, are they?" The Gym Leader scoffed. "In fact, now that I think about it, that's a pretty huge problem for ya. A water field would be your worst nightmare from where I'm standing."

"I've got Douse," he replied. "And Jasmine can swim as well."

"I don't doubt that they can swim, but have you actually trained them to fight in the water?" Surge asked with an eyebrow arched. Ash opened his mouth, but closed it almost immediately, so the electric type trainer went on. "In the Indigo League- and all the other Pokemon Leagues, for that matter- you'll be competing against other trainers on different types of terrain. Water, tundra, mountains, grasslands…you name it. The League goes all-out preparing their battlefields. If your team isn't prepared for the terrain, they'll get steamrolled by veteran trainers. Your Poliwhirl, for example; he may be a water type, but if he doesn't know what he's doing underwater, he'll get creamed by something that _does_ know."

It was a fair point and one that Ash really hadn't even thought about. He bit his lip as he processed everything that Surge had entailed. "I really didn't even think about that."

"Well start thinking about it before you get your ass kicked in an unfavorable situation," Surge grunted. "Your team looks decent enough for what I have in mind, so you'll be coming with me now."

Now it was Ash's turn to arch an eyebrow. "For what?"

"You're paying me back for taking care of your rodent. I don't do favors for free," the man smirked widely.

* * *

"Um…what are we doing here?" Ash asked the electric type Gym Leader. Surge had dragged him out to what looked like a school or something for Pokemon trainers, but he didn't think that the ex-soldier was into teaching. This was, of course, after they visited the Pokemon Center and had lunch. The giant of a man had devoured nearly five plates worth of food.

Surge grinned somewhat maniacally. "Like I said, this is compensation for me taking care of your rodent. Listen up, this place is Vermillion's Pokemon Trainer Academy. Some people call it the "School of Hard Knocks" for its tough academic course, but it's really just a preppy school for brats with rich parents. They're taught theory for battle, training, stuff like that. Problem is, sitting in class and listening to lectures all damn day ain't nearly as good as actually getting out there and doing it. That's where you come in."

"The Principal has been pestering me oversee a new battle course for these spoiled brats. You're going to beat their Pokemon senseless while I grill 'em for being snobby and lacking actual combat experience."

Ash sweat-dropped. "That's a class?"

"More or less," the giant sniggered with terrible cheer. "I'm putting them through a dumbed-down version of my old army recruitment training course. My job is to sit back and yell at them while you kick their asses and we just repeat that until all of the snobbishness is gone. You'll enjoy it, trust me."

He wasn't so sure, but then again, Surge's humor was morbid at best. Ash didn't question the man and resigned himself to endless combat with the students he'd be facing. At least his team would get to fight.

* * *

The children in question didn't seem very impressed with Ash. It wasn't all that surprising, seeing as they were all around his age, with a few slightly older or younger from what he could see. Most of them definitely had the rich kid vibe- expensive suits, Luxury Balls or other rare pokeballs on their fancy belts, and condescending expressions on most of their faces. All of them were gathered on the side of a practice battlefield and the majority offered him arched eyebrows and sneers.

This wouldn't be fun.

Surge ignored the kids and walked straight to a man that looked to be in his late twenties. Ash was a bit perplexed by him because despite obviously being the teacher, the man didn't look anything like the spoiled children he was in charge of. He looked more tired than anything and seemed relieved that the electric Gym Leader was here.

Said Gym Leader shook the other man's hand with a firm grasp and a wide grin on his face. "Good to see you, Norman. Ya miss me? Am I a sight for sore eyes?"

"Right now? Yes, you are," Norman sighed, rubbing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose with his spare hand. He muttered something to Surge under his breath and the bear of a man roared with laughter. Ash could only assume whatever had been said was not appropriate, but he was just doing his best not to look uncomfortable amidst the piercing stares of the students.

Surge saved him by turning to the kids, crossing his arms, and drawling loudly. "Alright you runts, listen up! If it wasn't obvious, the name's Lt. Surge. I'm the Gym Leader of Vermillion City and your principal has begged- excuse me- _asked_ that I help teach you all practical battle skills. This first class is meant to teach you an important lesson- that theory is not always the same in practice. Did your tiny brains get that?"

A particularly snobby girl set her hands on her hips, unfazed by the giant. "What does that even mean? Theory of battle is _always_ the same in practice, you oaf. Are you actually a Gym Leader?"

Surge cocked an eyebrow. "And you are?"

"Giselle. Brutes and little boys don't have the right to know my full name," she sniffed. Her eyes trailed to Ash, obviously unimpressed. "And who's this kid? He looks like some average trainer. What, is he gonna use a full team of Rattata on us? Does he even have a full team in the first place? Why'd you bring some amateur?"

Ash clenched his jaw in annoyance. Fighting these kids was a lot more appealing all of a sudden.

Surge grinned fiendishly. "Well, why don't you brats find out? This kid managed to beat me in a battle and earned a Thunder Badge. He should be strong enough for you."

"I earned the Thunder Badge on our virtual console in my first month of the semester," she deadpanned. "I'm already close to getting the Volcano Badge. The rest of this class are at least Soul Badge level or higher. He can't possibly beat us."

"Big talk," Surge snorted. "Let me see you all prove how strong you are. Norman, who are the top ten brats in your class by score?"

Norman took out a small, digital pad from his pocket and tapped the screen a few times before reciting the names in question. "Starting from rank ten, it's Joe, Michelle, Brent, Vince, Sarah, Brian, Selene, Rodger, Giselle, and Courtney."

"Good. The ten of you are going to be facing the kid here, one after another in a series of one-on-one battles," Surge announced. "If the kid defeats you all, I won't hear a single complaint from any of you for the next two weeks. I'll even bet that he won't lose a single Pokemon against you."

"Oh, come on!" One of the boys exclaimed. "This guy is obviously just some average chump! Ten of us? He won't even beat one of us!"

Even Ash felt both of his eyebrows go up. _Ten_ battles in a row?

Giselle was staring between him and Surge with disbelief. "Is this a joke?"

"You're one of the opponents, missy," Surge sneered. "You can find out for yourself when the kid steamrolls ya. Who was that first brat? Joe, or something? Get on the field. Kiddo, front and center. You can start any way you like."

Surge set a hand on Ash's shoulder and offered an uncharacteristically normal smile. "Mop the floor with them as thoroughly as you can before I set Zeus on whatever runts these little shits own."

He couldn't help but smirk a little. "I'm not promising even leftovers."

"Good!" Surge cackled, startling the bystander students while Norman simply cracked a smile. "Release your Pokemon, you brats!"

Joe looked a little nervous across the field, but he pulled out a Luxury Ball and released a Bellsprout. Ash considered his opponent for just a second before he unleashed Sobek, who roared and glared at his new foe.

On the sidelines, Giselle scoffed. "A ground type? Really? Don't you know anything about type advantages, little boy? Even Joe can beat you with that matchup."

Ash felt his eyelid twitch. "We'll see about that."

"Start the match!" Surge declared.

"Bellsprout, use Razor Leaf!" Joe ordered. The plant-like Pokemon followed his command and spun in a circle quickly to launch a flurry of sharp leaves towards Sobek.

Ash retaliated immediately. "Incinerate!"

Sobek spat a thin stream of fire that burned through the leaves and turned them to ashes. Bellsprout looked a little nervous now, but Joe still looked confident enough to continue. "Okay, then try Vine Whip instead!"

Two thin, but strong vines shot towards Sobek from under Bellsprout's leafy appendages, aiming right for the Krokorok's stomach. Ash decided to turn the tide in his favor then. "Grab the vines!"

The Vine Whip struck Sobek's chest and made him growl with annoyance, but then he grabbed them with his powerful claws and prevented Bellsprout from reeling them back in. Both the grass type and its trainer looked ready to panic and Ash could see what Surge was talking about now. These kids knew about how battles worked in theory, but there was no way to study everything regarding combat behind a desk and truly understand it.

"Bring it in, Sobek," Ash ordered. The Krokorok gave a mighty heave which lifted Bellsprout off the ground and sent it flying towards him. While the plant-like Pokemon gurgled with fright in the air, Ash gave a follow up command. "Crunch!"

Sobek's powerful jaws clamped down onto Bellsprout the second it was in range and shook it violently for a few seconds. He didn't even bother hurling the grass type away and just dropped it, where it immediately passed out.

"Bellsprout is down!" Surge declared. "Joe, take your plant to the Nurse and then come straight back. Norman, send the next kid up already!"

Joe looked mortified as he recalled Bellsprout and ran towards the main school building. Ash felt a little bad for the kid because he seemed more timid than the rest of his classmates and Sobek's overwhelming victory despite a type advantage had probably terrified him. Maybe he wasn't the stereotypical rich kid?

Norman calling up the next kid, Michelle, snapped him out of his brief train of thought. She acted a lot like Giselle, much to Ash's annoyance. "Beating Joe isn't that hard. Anyone can do it since he's the lamest trainer here."

Ash took a deep breath and glared at her as she released a Staryu. Sobek let out a fierce snarl and thrashed his tail, reminding Ash that he'd just gotten a Moxie boost from defeating Bellsprout. Assuming all of their opponents were about the same level as Joe's Pokemon had been, it was probably too dangerous for him to keep using Sobek. But if the Krokorok could maintain control of himself, then this could be a valuable opportunity to work on improving his ability to use Moxie in battle.

"Sobek!" Ash called. The Krokorok glanced at his trainer over his shoulder and listened to his every word. "Stay calm. Try to keep yourself from going wild whenever you defeat one of their Pokemon, okay?"

Sobek grunted and turned back to face Staryu. Ash hoped that the croc would be able to manage that, but since they hadn't actually worked on his control of Moxie before, he wasn't expecting perfection. But if Sobek could contain himself for just a little while longer than normal, then that was improvement in Ash's eyes.

"Are you done giving your loser Pokemon a pep talk?" Michelle scoffed. "Come on and fight already."

"Remember, you asked for it," Ash grinned while Sobek snarled agreement. "Stone Edge!"

Sobek smashed his fist into the ground and triggered a line of bladed stones to erupt from the field below, aiming for Staryu. The water type tensed while its trainer gave a quick order. "Evade it!"

Staryu cartwheeled on its five appendages and managed to escape Stone Edge, much to Sobek's irritation. Its trainer followed up with an attack of her own. "Water Gun!"

Staryu fired a jet of water from one of its appendages. Ash would give it credit for its aim, but the blast was weak compared to other Water Guns that he'd seen and he already had a counter ready. "Bite into it! Thunder Fang!"

Electricity crackled in Sobek's maw as he roared, then snapped down harshly onto the jet of water as it made contact with him. The lightning danced up the stream and shocked Staryu in the blink of an eye, causing the gem at its core to flicker in distress. Michelle's face had gone from triumph to disbelief, but she forgot to provide her Pokemon with a counterattack while Ash rolled right on. "Assurance!"

With a loud growl and a quick lunge, Sobek's claws slashed at the gem before Staryu could react and sent the water type skidding across the field, where it collapsed and did not get up.

"Staryu is down!" Surge announced lazily.

"No way!" Michelle was outraged. "I hit it with a super effective move! It should have taken way more damage! He must have cheated somehow!"

"He didn't cheat," the Gym Leader scoffed. "Your Staryu just sucks because you haven't trained it for shit. Go take it to the Nurse and get back here."

She looked ready to slap him into next week, but Michelle recalled Staryu and stomped back to the school while Ash prepared himself for round three. He watched Sobek warily as the croc's eyes glowed bright red from Moxie's effect, causing him to snarl aggressively. This was usually the point where Sobek started to lose it. He could maintain some of his control after the second boost, but by the time they got to number three, he usually snapped and ran riot.

Ash bit his lip. He really didn't want Sobek to push things too far if he did end up snapping. Just in case he couldn't recall the croc fast enough from battle…

"Hey, Surge!" He looked at the Gym Leader seriously, who arched an eyebrow. "Do you mind setting one of your Pokemon loose in case Sobek gets out of hand?"

Surge's eyes cleared in understanding and he nodded, setting loose an electric type that Ash recognized as an Electabuzz. It was noticeably smaller than its evolved form, but there was no denying the power in its body.

Sobek snarled at the sight of it and Ash quickly reprimanded him. "Sobek, no! They aren't our opponents."

He looked very displeased by this, but obeyed nonetheless, much to Ash's relief. By now his third opponent, Brent, had reached the battlefield and was ready to go.

The boy released a large Pinsir from his Luxury Ball, smirking when the bug type's powerful claws flexed in preparation for combat. "This Pinsir was a gift from my father. It possesses the greatest power and moves that money can buy! I hope you're ready to be thoroughly beaten, you wannabe."

Sobek let out a roar of anticipation and Ash clenched his fists. "Come on! This is only number three, Sobek! Focus your mind!"

Brent made the first move. "Quick Attack!"

Ash was not expecting that. Pinsir lunged forward with surprising speed for a creature of its bulk and slammed its claws into Sobek's stomach. The croc roared angrily as he was thrown back from the impact. Pinsir was definitely stronger than their previous two opponents, but Ash knew that Sobek was still a lot stronger after two Moxie boosts.

"Incinerate!" Ash ordered.

Sobek spat a burst of flame at the bug type, but Pinsir erected a shield of energy that could only be Protect. Brent sneered when Sobek roared in fury, obviously irate that his opponent was still standing. The boy flicked his hair mockingly. "What a noisy, unsightly creature! Use X-Scissor!"

Pinsir's enormous pair of blades clicked eagerly as it charged Sobek again, this time slashing green energy in an X-formation with the powerful claws on its arms. The Krokorok snarled as it got in close, but listened when his trainer gave him a command. "Foul Play!"

Glowing black claws collided with the X-Scissor, but the bug type energy somewhat diminished the dark type move's effect and only caused Pinsir to skid back while Sobek took an equal amount of damage. Ash narrowed his eyes at the negative result and watched as his Pokemon retained both balance and sanity, though there was no telling how much longer he could maintain the latter.

Brent seemed a little annoyed now that Sobek was refusing to go down. "Stubborn beast. Fine, use Close Combat!"

Pinsir charged in again and Ash was opening his mouth to order a Fire Fang in retaliation when Sobek snapped. The Krokorok let out a tremendous caterwaul and instead of outright attacking, swiped one of his powerful arms upward with his claws clenched. Ash didn't have the foggiest idea what he was trying to do until a massive, bladed stone exploded from the ground and rammed into Pinsir's carapace.

The bug type let out a shriek as the Stone Edge pierced through its armor, then sent it flying away. With a heavy thud, it crashed into the ground and didn't even try to get back up.

Ash's eyes were wide. Since when was Sobek able to use a Stone Edge like that?!

Brent and the rest of the students were shocked after seeing Pinsir so effortlessly defeated. Norman looked a lot less tired and more alarmed, while Surge had a guarded expression. His Electabuzz looked ready to jump in if it was necessary.

Sobek's eyes and scales glowed red from his third Moxie boost and when he roared, the ground shook in response. This was the same level of power that he'd reached back when they trained with Leaf. Ash had never been able to control him at this point before- and unfortunately, it was the same case this time.

The Krokorok looked positively rabid as his glare snapped to Electabuzz and he bellowed, legs tensed to charge and unleash every bit of his fury upon the electric type. Electabuzz had its hands up and was ready to fight, but Ash managed to get over his shock and swiftly recalled Sobek when he saw that there would be no reasoning with him.

Relief seemed to flow over the field as the Krokorok was sucked back into his pokeball. Ash sighed and regarded the capture device with a slight frown. "You did good, buddy. Take a break. We'll figure it out somehow."

Surge broke the uncomfortable silence. "Pinsir is down. Get your Pokemon to the Nurse, kid. It's probably gonna be out for a day or two after getting crushed like that."

Brent shakily recalled his Pinsir and practically fled the sight of Ash despite Sobek no longer being on the battlefield. The other students no longer looked quite as confident as before, but one of them, a lilac-haired girl, spoke quietly while her classmates were stunned. "The subject possesses high-level Pokemon. Analysis indicates the rest of his party may consist of similarly leveled enemies. Classmates made a critical error by assuming this trainer was of rookie level."

"Courtney, shut up," Giselle snapped. She looked a little nervous, but still seemed positively irritated at Ash. "He got lucky. Krokorok have the Moxie ability, so it only makes sense that its strength would increase as it defeats opponents. Besides, it couldn't even control itself! Of course this guy is still a rookie if he can't do that much!"

Courtney seemed to ignore her, but she did go silent again. Ash was a little put-out that Sobek hadn't been able to improve much, but at least it hadn't been a total disaster this time. He was interested in how Sobek had pulled off that last Stone Edge, though. Maybe they'd look into that later.

"Who's the next chump in line, Norman?" Surge grunted, obviously eager to keep things going.

Norman looked over his digital pad again and announced Ash's next opponent. "Vince, take your place on the practice field."

The next boy which faced Ash was a big, meaty kid who didn't look at all swayed by the unexpected display of power. He cracked his knuckles with a cocky grin and set loose a Pokemon which Ash had never faced before- a Hitmonchan.

"My family runs a Dojo in Saffron City!" The kid exclaimed. "It is a place of training for fighting types! My Hitmonchan has trained diligently and is capable of defeating any opponent you send our way!"

Ash couldn't help but grin when the fighting type gave a few warm-up jabs at the air to get itself going. This one looked like a challenge. He grabbed his second pokeball and released his next partner. "You're up, Douse!"

The Poliwhirl appeared in a flash of light and beat a fist against his round belly as usual, locking gazes with Hitmonchan as he regarded the fighting type. Hitmonchan began to sway slightly from side to side, still punching at random to get warmed up.

"Bubble Beam!" Ash shouted.

Douse reared his head back and launched a stream of bubbles at his opponent, every one primed and ready to explode upon impact. However, Vince was definitely a little different from the previous trainers thus far as he grinned in response. "Detect!"

Hitmonchan's eyes glowed slightly and its swaying gained velocity as it danced around each of the bubbles, quickly making its way towards the source of the attack. Ash wasn't eager to let it get close and changed things up. "Ice Beam!"

"Vacuum Wave!" Vince commanded. Hitmonchan made its way out of the Bubble Beam completely and brought it's right fist back, then punched straight forward. The result was a burst of high-powered wind, which crashed into the Ice Beam and negated it almost immediately.

Not missing a beat, Vince followed up with another attack. "Bullet Punch!"

Douse gurgled in pain as a hard fist slammed into his round body, but he maintained his composure and didn't give any ground, much to Hitmonchan's surprise. Ash grinned and gave his own order. "Mega Punch!"

Hitmonchan's head jerked violently as Douse smashed the underside of its jaw with a glowing fist, lifting the fighting type off of its feet and sending it flying back to its trainer. Vince looked a little worried for a moment, but Hitmonchan got back on its feet with only mild shakiness. He scratched the back of his head. "Crap, I forgot that steel type moves aren't all that great against water types."

"Which is why you're not part of the top five, you idiot," Giselle growled from the side.

"Ignore her," Ash interrupted before Vince could glare at the girl. He was having too much fun for the prissy brat to get in the way now. "Let's just keep on fighting."

Vince grinned widely in response and totally ignored Giselle's angry snap at Ash's comment. "I like the sound of that! Hitmonchan, Comet Punch!"

"Mega Punch it!" Ash shouted.

The impact of both punches sent a wave of energy through the air, ruffling Ash's hair. He could feel his blood starting to pump with excitement. Hitmonchan was way better than any of the other three before it. Well, Pinsir might've been a good challenge if Sobek hadn't curb-stomped it, but Vince himself was also a lot more eager to fight. It made the fight much more enjoyable since both the trainers and their Pokemon were all revved up.

Douse and Hitmonchan exchanged a fierce series of blows, some of them blinding fast and others ruthlessly powerful. Hitmonchan was landing a lot more hits, but each one of Douse's packed more strength than his opponent's. Ash could see both of them were getting worn down and decided he needed to end this before it got much closer.

Vince apparently thought the same because he changed things up. "Here goes nothing! Focus Punch!"

Hitmonchan leapt back for a moment and tensed up, focusing all of its strength into one last attack. Ash didn't know much about Focus Punch, but he knew that if it landed, Douse would probably be unable to battle. He had an idea though and waited while Hitmonchan gathered itself.

The fighting type's eyes gleamed and it started to lunge when Ash snapped. "Use Body Slam on the ground!"

Douse didn't miss a beat and did just that. His round body hit the ground and used the impact to bounce himself high into the air, right over the Focus Punch that Hitmonchan had just thrown. The fighting type looked terribly surprised to say the least, now that its opponent was floating right over its head. Vince looked equally stunned as Ash gave his last command. "Hydro Pump!"

The blast of water pummeled Hitmonchan into the ground and knocked it out instantly much to Ash's relief. While Hydro Pump wasn't perfect yet, it packed enough of a wallop at close range to defeat a weakened opponent. Douse himself still became quite tired after using the move, but this was the first time they'd actually won with it.

"Hitmonchan's down!" Surge announced.

Vince recalled Hitmonchan and to Ash's surprise, bowed to him immediately. "Thank you very much for the battle! It was a great experience!"

"Y-you're welcome," Ash stammered, not really sure how to respond to that. He managed a smile, though. "Hitmonchan was really strong. I was surprised."

"Of course!" Vince laughed. "We train together at the dojo all the time! You should visit us sometime!"

"I might do that," he replied. Vince took his leave then, heading for the school so that he could get Hitmonchan healed up. Ash recalled Douse, seeing as the Poliwhirl had exhausted himself in that battle. "You did really well, buddy. I'm proud of you."

By now, Joe and Michelle had returned to the group of students and the fifth trainer Ash had to face, Sarah, made her way onto the field. She didn't look nearly as cocky as the others, but still huffed when she got to her side of the battlefield. "I suppose it's not all luck on your part that you've beaten four of us. But just so we're clear, you're winning streak ends with me."

"I can't wait," Ash grinned. He was still feeling energized from his previous fight. Grabbing his third pokeball, he set loose the next member of his team- Jasmine.

The Dratini was a sight even for the rich kids watching them. Several of the students openly gaped in surprise and Giselle actually spluttered. Ash didn't try to hide his smile as Sarah stared with wide eyes at her opponent.

Jasmine looked utterly perplexed by the reactions to her and twitched her tail nervously, but Ash as quick to reassure her. "It's okay, girl. We're just about to have a battle."

Sarah opened a closed her mouth a few times before she actually got her Pokemon- a Graveler- out onto the field. The rock type smashed its four fists together and glared at Jasmine, obviously ready for a fight. Ash's smile widened when Jasmine tensed up, just as ready to do battle with her opponent.

"Graveler, use Rock Throw!" Sarah ordered.

Ash blinked when Graveler instead curled itself into a ball and began to roll towards Jasmine at high speed- that was a Rollout, not a Rock Throw. It wasn't obeying Sarah at all! "Avoid it."

Jasmine easily evaded the Rollout attack and spun back around to watch as Graveler made a rather slow turn, then rolled at her again. Sarah was yelling at her Pokemon to listen to her, but from what Ash could see, the rock type held zero respect for its trainer and completely disregarded her commands.

Graveler missed again as Jasmine slithered to the side and let it roll past her once more. She seemed perplexed again, probably because Graveler wasn't doing what it was told and instead had taken to rolling around the field. Maybe it was trying to play a game? She liked games, but surely a battle wasn't the best place to have one?

Her wayward thoughts were cut off as Graveler uncurled itself and glared at her, apparently peeved by how easily she had avoided its attacks. The rock type made a grating bellow, then jammed all four of its fists into the ground. It ripped chunks of stone out and began to hurl them at Jasmine with surprising speed- Ash recognized the move as Rock Blast. "Speed up! Agility!"

Jasmine's serpentine body became a blur as she slipped into Agility, darting all over the field to evade Rock Blast while Graveler struggled to keep up with her. All the while Graveler ignored its trainer, who was yelling at it furiously to start listening to her. When the rock type stopped throwing stones and tried to get a lock on its opponent, Ash decided to get his own attack in. "Dragon Rage!"

She flanked Graveler on its right side before the rock type could so much as blink, then let out a loud cry and unleashed a blast of blue draconic energy upon it. The impact generated a large explosion, resulting in a loud, grating screech from Graveler as it took a significant amount of damage.

"Pull yourself together!" Sarah snapped. She was already irate that her Pokemon was refusing to obey her and jabbed a finger at Jasmine, who had returned to Ash's side of the field. "Use Bulldoze!"

Whether Graveler decided to obey its trainer this time or if they were just simply of the same mind, Ash couldn't tell. Regardless, the rock type punched the ground harshly with all four of its fists and sent a small wave of writhing earth towards Jasmine.

"Jump over it!" He shouted. Jasmine coiled her body underneath her quickly and sprang up, leaping clear over the Bulldoze attack and getting into a position just above Graveler. The rock type looked like it was about to go for another Rock Blast, but Ash wasn't having any more of that. "Dragon Tail!"

Jasmine's tail glowed that lustrous green hue, then she flipped forward in a blur and slammed the dragon type move smack-dab in the middle of the rock type's head. Graveler's eyes went wide as the impact left a crack on its armored shell of stone and it collapsed just as the Dratini landed with easy grace.

Surge looked ready to yawn after seeing the poor display from Sarah's Pokemon. "Graveler's down. Take your pet rock and get it healed up. Next in line!"

Sarah definitely looked upset, but she recalled Graveler without a word and ran off. Ash felt kind of bad for her; it had to be humiliating for her Pokemon to completely disregard her orders in front of the whole class like that. At least the fight had been ended fairly quickly.

Jasmine slithered over to him and cooed, prompting Ash to smile and scratch the scales behind her ears- her favorite spot. The little dragon's tail swished in delight and she made a happy trill as she leaned into his touch.

"Atta girl," he praised her. "You did really well. Think you can handle another one?"

She nodded immediately. Ash was proud of how eager she was to keep going despite her shy personality. Jasmine just seemed to come alive on the battlefield and she wasn't as reserved as she usually was. Five down, five to go.

Their next opponent was Brian, who seemed to take after Brent with his cocky attitude and know-it-all tone. "What a bunch of amateurs. Not a single one of you is making much of an effort to defend yourselves from his attacks! No wonder they all lost to this rookie."

Ash's eye twitched with annoyance. "Are you going to _talk_ my Pokemon into unconsciousness?"

Brian merely smirked and with a flourish, threw a blue capture device- a Dive Ball- out onto the field, where it released a Shellder. "Shellder may not possess the ice typing in its base form, but it can still use ice type attacks. Dragon types are exceptionally weak to those moves, after all. Your Pokemon doesn't stand a chance in terms of type advantage."

"If you're just going to keep chatting our ears off, then we're going first," Ash interrupted him. "Dragon Rage!"

Jasmine fired the draconic energy at Shellder without missing a beat, but Brian reacted just as quickly. "Iron Defense!"

Shellder hid in it's shell, which flashed bright silver and weathered the blast easily. The water type popped back out as soon as Jasmine's attack ended and carried out the next order it's trainer gave it. "Aurora Beam!"

A beam of multicolored energy was fired at Jasmine, but it was still an ice type move regardless of what it looked like and Ash knew it. "Flamethrower! Burn it away!"

Jasmine let out a low cry as she breathed out a tongue of flame, which collided with Shellder's Aurora Beam and pushed it back several feet before exploding violently over the field. When the smoke cleared, Brian looked frustrated and less cocky than before. Ash smirked at the irritated face of his opponent. "You're not wrong that ice type moves are super effective against dragon types. But if you want to become a great trainer, you need to find ways around your Pokemon's weaknesses."

"Thank you, captain obvious," Brian mocked him. "You think I don't know that already? Shellder, Supersonic!"

The water type released a loud wave of fluctuating sound from its odd mouth, intending to shake Jasmine up through confusion. Brian was probably gunning for another ice type move once she was incapacitated, but fortunately, Ash had a way around that move as well. "Safeguard!"

Jasmine's eyes gleamed as she generated a pink sphere of energy around her body, upon which the Supersonic broke up harmlessly. Safeguard didn't provide a foolproof defense like Protect, but it was useful for guarding against status-afflicting moves like Supersonic or Thunder Wave.

Ash grinned widely upon seeing Brian's face grow more frustrated. He was losing his cool as Jasmine shut down all of his attacks. "Icicle Spear!"

"Flamethrower!"

Shellder fired off a series of sharp ice crystals only for them to be melted immediately upon contact with Jasmine's fire type move. The clam snapped its shell closed as the flames continued to approach, but it was well-protected in it's shell and the Flamethrower washed over it harmlessly.

Ash really didn't want it to keep using those ice type moves, so while Shellder was hiding, he quickly gave Jasmine another command. "Thunder Wave!"

The small horn on her head crackled briefly with electricity, then she fired the Thunder Wave in a thin lance towards Shellder and despite hiding in it's shell, the electric attack spread over the water type's body, paralyzing it immediately. Sparks danced over Shellder's cringing form as it gurgled in distress and spasmed painfully.

"Dragon Tail!" Ash ordered.

Jasmine darted over and swiped her glowing, emerald tail at Shellder, scoring a clean hit. But the water type possessed impressive defenses, as it wasn't immediately knocked out and even surprised them by clamping down tightly on it's opponent's tail. She cried out painfully as the clam stuck to her firmly.

Brian was grinning like he'd won the fight. "Now what?! As long as Shellder's clamped on your Dratini, she's got no way to fight back! Give up!"

"Think so?" He clenched his fist. "Slam it!"

Jasmine coiled her body and launched herself into the air, then flipped several times before crashing her tail (and consequently, Shellder) into the ground as hard as she could. The damage jarred Shellder and caused it to release her, leaving it stunned and paralyzed as Thunder Wave continued to do its work. Ash had had enough of this fight and ordered her to finish it. "Dragon Rage!"

The blast completely enveloped Shellder's small body and when the dust cleared, the water type was obviously unconscious. Jasmine appeared to be a bit tired after that bout, but Ash was happy with how well she'd done.

Surge grunted. "Shellder's down. Round six to the kid, zero to the preppy brats."

Brian's cockiness was totally gone as he recalled Shellder and stormed away, but not without a parting shot. "Your luck won't hold out forever, wannabe! We'll beat you eventually!"

Ash rolled his eyes and didn't bother replying. He wasn't worth it.

Opponent number seven was Selene, who didn't say a word and just released her own Pokemon, which turned out to be a Pidgeotto. Ash regarded the flying type with interest and suddenly got an idea. He glanced down at Jasmine, who still looked a little pained from her last bout with Shellder. "Hey girl, how about you take a break here?"

Jasmine trilled agreement. She hadn't taken a lot of damage, but her tail hurt and she was kind of tired after two consecutive battles. Ash recalled her into the Safari Ball and gave Selene an apologetic look. "Sorry in advance, but I want to try this out while I'm up against a flying opponent."

Selene blinked in confusion one second, then blanched the next as Ash set Pyro loose. The Charizard released a menacing roar, flaring his wings and snorting a stream of flame as he glared at the poor Pidgeotto across the field.

Giselle couldn't even find a word to say. The silence was music to Ash's ears.

He gave Selene the first move this time and she gratefully took it. "Agility!"

Pidgeotto slipped into the enhancing technique with ease, turning into a blur as it flew circles around the Charizard below. Pyro growled with annoyance and took to the air, casting his eyes after the swift bird as best he could. Ash wanted to give him a shot at aerial combat so that he'd know what to expect the next time they faced an opponent like this. "Flamethrower!"

Pyro roared and unleashed a torrent of fire from his jaws, which rippled through the air and pursued the blurred form of Selene's Pidgeotto. It was really fast- Ash would give it that. Flamethrower looked like it got close sometimes, but Pidgeotto easily evaded whatever Pyro threw its way.

"Wing Attack!" Selene ordered.

Pidgeotto suddenly made a B-line for Pyro and slammed one of its wings into his stomach before he could react. It knocked him off-balance for a few seconds and although he recovered well enough, Ash could tell his starter wasn't very good with being attacked in the air. The Charizard bellowed in fury and blasted flame after his opponent, but the bird was quick enough to evade again and fled the fires.

"Keep going! Wing Attack back to back!"

Ash watched as Pidgeotto slammed attack after attack into his starter, but the blows weren't enough to take Pyro out no matter where they struck him. They unbalanced the Charizard and left him recovering a little awkwardly, yet he managed to regain his balance every time. And slowly, Ash realized, Pidgeotto was falling into a predictable pattern of Agility-enhanced flight and then attacking. Pyro's eyes trailed after it more quickly with every strike it made, and after several blows, he finally predicted it well enough to make an accurate counterattack.

Pidgeotto shrieked as it ended up colliding with a Mega Punch, which repelled the bird towards the ground below. Before it could recover, Pyro spat a gout of flame after his prey and the Flamethrower enveloped it, burning fiercely while the bird crashed onto the battlefield.

Pyro slowly descended and landed carefully, then roared his victory. He was obviously pleased that he'd won his first aerial battle, even though the opponent had obviously been just as inexperienced when it came to fighting in the sky. He seriously doubted that tanking hits in midair would be a winning strategy in the future, but Ash was still proud of Pyro for winning.

Selene recovered Pidgeotto and left for the healer, not even sparing a glance back at Ash and his Charizard. Pyro snorted and looked at his trainer, apparently wondering what her deal was. Ash merely shrugged- he was here to fight, not guess what the students were thinking.

"Good job, buddy," Ash lifted his hand up to rub his starter's jaw, causing Pyro to let out a pleased growl. That was seven opponents defeated and three left to go.

The eighth trainer they faced was Rodger. He seemed a lot less cocky than the earlier students, but Ash couldn't really blame him for that since Rodger was facing off against his Charizard. Pyro was glaring daggers at the kid while he waited for his next opponent to appear.

Said opponent was actually a Magneton. Ash observed the electric type for a few moments as he tried to gauge how strong it was. The Magneton was bigger than the one Surge had, but that didn't mean it was necessarily stronger. That said, since Pyro was now a fire and flying type, it meant both the Charizard and Magneton held a type advantage over each other. It would come down to who had the most firepower.

Ash smiled confidently. His partner could win this for sure.

"Thunderbolt!" Rodger commanded. Magneton's pronged tips sparked for a brief moment, then it unleashed a blast of electricity upon Pyro. It was a surprisingly large shock, but Ash fortunately had a way around it.

"Metal Claw into the ground!" He countered. Pyro's hand claws flashed metallic silver as he lunged down, digging them into the ground just as the electricity slammed into him. Rodger and Magneton both looked surprised when their Thunderbolt fizzled harmlessly into the dirt, leaving Pyro sneering at the pair through bared fangs.

"Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.

With a loud roar, Pyro flared his wings, sucked in a deep breath, and breathed a torrent of yellow-orange flames from his maw. The river of fire surged towards Magneton, promising pain if it made contact. Ash thought that might be it for this battle when, to his surprise, several Magnetons appeared out of thin air.

It was a Double Team made in a wise moment- Ash couldn't really tell what had happened because Pyro's Flamethrower was still going strong and obscuring his vision, but now Magneton had the potential to be any one of the copies floating around. He called for his starter to stop the fiery assault and Pyro obeyed, growling as he glared at each and every one of the Double Team illusions now circling around him.

Rodger looked more relaxed now that he had the upper hand and smirked. "Magneton, Thunderbolt!"

All of the clones started sparking and Ash grit his teeth. This wasn't going to be fun, but they had to figure out which one was the original. "Take it!"

Pyro growled agreement and braced himself as the multiple Thunderbolts collided with his body. He roared in pain, feeling the electrical energy burning through his every nerve. It hurt a lot, but now he knew which Magneton was real- it was one of the two on his right side.

He didn't miss a beat and, while the lightning was still surging through him, roared out with a Flamethrower to smite the pair of electric types. One instantly disappeared and then the Thunderbolt was gone as the real Magneton frantically threw up a Protect to defend itself. Pyro snarled now that he had his prey in his sights. Around him, the remaining Double Team images disappeared.

Ash's eyes snapped to the Magneton that Pyro had targeted and he grinned. "Blast it's shield until it goes away, then use Brick Break!"

Pyro redoubled his efforts upon hearing his trainer's command, hammering Magneton's energy shield with a ruthless blaze. His flames curved around the barrier in rivers of fire so hot that Ash bet the heat alone would probably do a lot of damage if Protect wasn't still active. Pyro ran out of breath just as its shield disappeared, then he lunged and drove his glowing arm into one of Magneton's three bodies. The Magnemite that had been struck by Brick Break was briefly separated from the trio until their natural magnetism dragged them back together.

Pyro was about to attack again when Magneton blasted him with another Thunderbolt, causing him to roar in pained surprise. He'd half expected it to be stunned for a moment after getting hit by Brick Break, but apparently that wasn't the case this time.

Ash frowned. That was the second super effective hit Magneton had scored on Pyro and though he didn't think his partner would go down from it, he didn't want to chance it either. "Flamethrower! Finish it!"

His Charizard unleashed a blazing fury in response to Magneton's Thunderbolt, razing the electric type and the terrain around them with fire until the mixing elements exploded violently. Ash squinted and threw his arm up in front of him as the heat reached his corner of the field. It rolled over his skin in a dry wave and dissipated just as the black smoke from the explosion began to fade away.

Pyro and Magneton were still facing each other. His starter flexed his wings and roared challengingly despite the charring on his scales from the electric shocks. Magneton had black burn marks on its iron hide and managed to stay airborne for a few more seconds before it collapsed. The damage it had taken was just too much.

"Magneton is down!" Surge announced. "Round eight to the kid and his Charizard! Rodger, go take Magneton to the Nurse and get back here right after that."

Rodger was polite enough to offer Ash a respectful nod as he recalled his Pokemon. He responded with a nod of his own and a smile. "Magneton was pretty good."

"It did the best it could," Rodger commented simply. "I cannot ask it for anything more."

He left then to get Magneton healed. Pyro walked back over to Ash and growled happily as the boy lifted his hand to rub the fire type's nose. "That was great, Pyro. They put up a nice fight, huh?"

Pyro rumbled agreement. That was the most damage he'd taken since fighting against Sobek just after evolving. Magneton was probably one of the strongest Pokemon owned by the students here. Ash ran his hands over some of his starter's electrocuted scales and pulled his pokeball out. "Take a break, buddy. I want Spectre and Eevee to fight the last two opponents, okay?"

The Charizard nodded and disappeared in a flash of red light as Ash recalled him. He set Pyro's pokeball back on his belt and was reaching for Spectre's next when he heard a huff across the field.

Giselle was his ninth opponent.

"I suppose you've done alright for a total rookie," she scoffed. "But I'm not too surprised that you've beaten all the ones before me. They don't have natural talent like I do."

Ash adjusted his hat to let a bit of cool air flow over his head. "Is that right? Think you're good enough to beat me? If you haven't been working on that 'natural talent' then you won't be able to defeat my Pokemon."

She rolled her eyes. "I think I need to knock you down a peg. You'll be fighting the best member of my team, Cubone!"

Giselle threw a Luxury Ball up and the device released a considerably large Cubone. Ash blinked when he realized that it was nearly double the size of Paul's own Cubone and wondered how it hadn't evolved yet until he saw the round, grey stone hanging from around the ground type's neck.

"As any _decent_ Pokemon trainer knows, it's important for a Pokemon to reach its fullest potential before evolving," Giselle flipped her hair and smirked confidently. "I gave my precious Cubone an Everstone for just that purpose since it's rather close to evolving- now I can take my time and maximize it's abilities in this form before it turns into Marowak."

Ash frowned at that. What Giselle said was true to a point- a Pokemon would develop best if it reached its maximum potential before evolving. Everstones were commonly used on Pokemon that evolved fast, such as bug types, in order for them to reach the highest level possible by delaying their evolution. But constantly repressing all that evolutionary energy could have a negative effect on the Pokemon holding the Everstone if they waited for too long. There was generally a limit to how long it was safe to restrain an evolution and he could only hope that Giselle hadn't made Cubone hold that for too long. It was nearly as big as a Marowak already.

He sent Spectre to combat her Pokemon. The ghost had been working hard lately to master Will-O-Wisp and although he hadn't gotten it down perfectly, it was certainly a lot better than when they had first started. Now Spectre could maintain the small fireballs long enough to hurl them at opponents, although they had a tendency to die out before reaching their target. His other techniques were well-rehearsed though, so he had full confidence that the small ghost could defeat Cubone.

Giselle looked almost offended by the sight of Spectre. "What is _that?_ You send a Charizard out earlier, but now you send a _Duskull_ against _me?_ Are you mocking me?"

Spectre appeared to be legitimately offended for the first time Ash could remember. He narrowed his eyes. "Spectre's a lot stronger than you think. I wouldn't underestimate him."

She huffed again and glared at him. "Whatever. I'll still crush it. Cubone, use Iron Head!"

Cubone began to charge Spectre with surprising speed for such a small and bulky Pokemon. It's skull mask glowed metallic silver as it got into range and leaped at it's opponent with a battle cry.

"Avoid it!" Ash ordered. He didn't want Giselle to see what Spectre was capable of until it was too late for her to counter. Moreover, Spectre didn't have a wide range of techniques and that meant he could get predictable if he used all of his attacks early on.

Spectre easily floated away from Cubone's charge and turned as the ground type landed, then spun around to face the ghost once again. It brandished it's large bone club and tensed as Giselle called out her next command. "Focus Energy!"

Cubone squared it's posture and glared at Spectre as it focused all of the energy in it's body. Ash really didn't want it to get a lucky critical hit off and decided to interrupt that particular move before it could finish. "Shadow Sneak!"

The ghost flitted into a shadow on the ground and darted up to Cubone, smacking his own skull mask into the ground type's. Cubone recoiled with a cry of surprise and flailed it's bone club around, though it missed Spectre's wispy body by a few inches. Ash smirked, realizing that it had lost its focus and issued another command to shut down any more ideas Giselle had about increasing her Pokemon's attack power. "Will-O-Wisp!"

Spectre generated the red fireball just a few meters away and launched them with careful control. At this range, Ash doubted they would miss, but Giselle apparently wasn't willing to let him get away with that one. "Bonemerang!"

Cubone hurled it's bone club at the fireball, which was easily broken up by the impact while the Bonemerang continued flying. It hit Spectre in the face, although the ghost just made a hollow noise of surprise and didn't actually seem all that hurt by it. Ash wasn't shocked by the lack of damage- Spectre's mask was the toughest part of his body and incredibly hard to damage. Striking it with a blunt attack was useless unless there was a lot of force behind the attack.

The Bonemerang made its way back to Cubone and the ground type caught it's weapon with ease as Giselle ordered another attack. "Bone Rush!"

Cubone's club glowed blue and extended about a foot in either direction as it charged Spectre once more. It began to swipe and swing the weapon at the Duskull, who floated around each strike as they came to evade it. A few of the attacks did hit Spectre, but they only made him float backwards a little and most bounced off of his mask without doing much of anything.

Giselle looked frustrated by the lack of progress on her part. She had probably figured out that Spectre was a defensive fighter and was a poor match for her offense-oriented Cubone. "Enough! Use Focus Energy again and this time don't mess up!"

Her Pokemon stopped using Bone Rush and retreated, tensing up to complete the technique that it had earlier failed. Ash wasn't having any of that and immediately countered. "Shadow Ball! Don't let it concentrate!"

Spectre generated a sphere of pitch-black energy in front of him and launched the ghost type move at Cubone with speed and accuracy honed from countless hours of training. Ash felt a surge of pride as the attack showed no signs of faltering and knew that his partner had truly mastered Shadow Ball to make it his own.

Giselle sneered. "Bonemerang!"

Cubone hurled the Bonemerang with just as much accuracy and the colliding attacks sent the Shadow Ball off-course, where it hit the ground and exploded. The Bonemerang flew wide and high, but it was returning to its owner. Ash saw a chance to strike Cubone while it was unarmed and took it. "Will-O-Wisp!"

Spectre's eye gleamed as he generated the red fireball, though he held it for a few seconds longer than he had earlier before launching the attack. Ash figured he was probably making sure it was stronger this time, but the precious seconds he'd sacrificed for that power meant Cubone's club was almost back to its owner. He bit back his frustration as the ground type snagged it's weapon out of the air and brandished it as Focus Energy was completed.

Giselle was grinning now. "Bone Club. Blow that little fireball out!"

Cubone casually swung it's club with greater force now that it's power was concentrated. Ash fully expected it to wipe Will-O-Wisp out now that it was stronger than before-

-he did _not_ expect the crimson and black explosion which ripped out from the Will-O-Wisp as Cubone made contact with it. The ground type squealed in shock as it was sent flying and crashed into the ground with no small amount of force. Giselle was gaping and Ash was pretty sure he looked exactly like her. The onlookers looked just as dumbfounded as Spectre gleefully made his hollow laugh.

It took him a few moments to realize exactly what Spectre had done. The ghost had created Will-O-Wisp as he'd been taught to do, then formed a Shadow Ball at its core. Cubone had seen the red flames and thought nothing of it when it swung the club, taking it completely by surprise when it found the explosive ghost type move to be hiding underneath Will-O-Wisp.

When had Spectre learned that? They'd only started working on Will-O-Wisp a few weeks ago and it wasn't even complete! How had he-

Oh.

Understanding dawned on him when Ash realized that Spectre had taken his understanding of Will-O-Wisp's creation being similar to Shadow Ball's _literally_. Spectre had trained for Will-O-Wisp by forming it around his own Shadow Ball to maintain the shape and concentration of energy. In that process, he'd created a combination move of his own, though Ash had no idea he'd been working on that as well. He was just as surprised as everyone else.

Spectre looked far too satisfied and Ash was pretty sure his pranking talents had played a part in this technique being formed, but it worked and frankly he was impressed.

Cubone got up slowly and staggered, reeling from the surprise Shadow Ball and obviously not fully recovered. Ash decided to end the battle while Giselle and her Pokemon were still stunned. "Shadow Sneak!"

Spectre slipped into the darkness before either of their opponents could react and slammed his mask into Cubone's stomach. The ground type squealed in distress again, but didn't go down and flailed its weapon again, striking Spectre with a glancing blow. Ash decided a stronger attack was necessary just as Giselle snapped out of her daze and realized that she was in trouble. "Disable!"

The Duskull's red eye glowed brightly and Cubone's flailing body froze in a red layer of energy, leaving it briefly suspended as Ash called for Spectre to finish the battle. "Shadow Ball."

A blast of ghostly energy smote Cubone right in the face and sent it skidding across the field until it came to a stop at Giselle's feet. It's mask had shifted slightly to cover its eyes, but Ash knew from the way it slumped to the ground that it was unconscious. Cubone's trainer stared at her Pokemon in shock as Surge announced his ninth victory.

"Cubone is down! Round nine to the kid!"

Giselle fell to her knees and recalled Cubone without a word. She stayed on her side of the field until Surge's gruff voice made her flinch. "To the Nurse, missy. Your Pokemon needs to be healed and the kid still has to beat one more of you brats before this is over."

She nodded jerkily and, clenching Cubone's Luxury Ball in her hand, ran off towards the building. Ash almost felt bad for her, but considering all that she had said to spite him and his Pokemon, he shoved those sympathetic feelings to the side and concentrated on Spectre, who was now floating over to him with a satisfied look in his red eye.

Ash held his hand out so Spectre could float over it. He smiled at the little ghost. "That was fantastic, Spectre. When did you figure out how to do that?"

Spectre merely chuckled in that familiar, hollow way and Ash shook his head, still smiling. "We'll have to come up with a special name for that one, buddy. You surprised even me."

The Duskull made a happy backflip that caused him to laugh a little. "Alright, now how about you take a break? Eevee still needs to battle and then we'll be done here."

Spectre nodded as he was recalled back into his pokeball and Ash set the device back on his belt. He grabbed Eevee's Luxury Ball just as his last opponent, Courtney, made her way onto the field.

She stared at him with a calm expression, but far from the arrogant ways of her class, seemed to be taking him a lot more seriously. "Subject has recalled his fifth Pokemon. Analysis indicates this means he intends to use his sixth for this battle. Next opponent will possess full strength. Calculating options…"

He didn't have the foggiest idea what she was going on about, but Ash assumed that Courtney was trying to figure out which Pokemon she should use. Without missing a beat, he tapped the release on the capture device in his hand and set Eevee loose. She shook herself and glanced at him, to which he smiled. "Feeling up to a quick battle, girl?"

Eevee considered that and nodded, turning to face Courtney while the lilac-haired girl stared back almost robotically. "Adversary identified as an Eevee. Normal type. Species' preferred fighting style based on attack, speed…likely has low defenses. Best option for victory is…"

Courtney enlarged a regular pokeball and threw it up into the air, releasing what Ash recognized as a Vulpix. The fox Pokemon wagged its six tails and shook its luxurious red fur, showing that it was obviously well-cared for. Ash wasn't sure if that entailed to how powerful it was, but he remembered a saying that the brighter a Vulpix's coat, the stronger it was. This one looked to be in pretty good condition.

Ash made the first move. "Quick Attack!"

Eevee slipped into the technique easily, blurring away as she charged Vulpix. The fire type didn't move an inch until it's trainer gave it a command. "Quick Attack. Evade it."

Vulpix used the same move as Eevee and darted away just as she closed in. Eevee came to a quick stop and lunged after it with a fierce cry. Ash would admit he was impressed by Vulpix's speed- it wasn't as fast as Eevee and she was closing in, but there was no denying that it was far faster than any of the other Pokemon he'd battled here.

Eevee was drawing in close to Vulpix and made to pounce when Courtney suddenly made a new order. "Faint Attack."

Vulpix instantly skidded to a half and spun in a full circle to slam its six tails into Eevee as the normal type, caught off-guard by her opponent's unexpected stop, left herself open to a counter. Eevee squeaked with surprise and rolled through the dirt for a few seconds, but she recovered quickly and regained her footing as Vulpix spun again to face her. She growled at the fire type, who was just as expressionless as its trainer.

Courtney continued her string of commands now that the battle was flowing in her favor. "Flamethrower."

"Shadow Ball!" Ash ordered.

Eevee generated the ghost type move in an instant and launched it just as Vulpix opened its mouth and released a stream of hot orange fire, which collided with Shadow Ball and exploded violently. The result was a cloud of black smoke that obscured Ash and Eevee's vision, leaving them tense and unable to see their opponents.

Ash thought he heard Courtney mutter something on the other side of the field and narrowed his eyes. "Be careful, Eevee."

She growled agreement and began stalking back and forth as the smoke began to clear-

-Vulpix lunged out of the remaining smoke cloaked in fire and charged with surprising speed. Ash barely managed to yell a counterattack before the fire type could hit Eevee. "Dodge! Quick Attack!"

Eevee somehow pulled the attack off and dodged by a hair's breadth- literally. Ash could see her fur was slightly singed as Vulpix lunged past her, spun around, and charged again with its cloak of fire still going strong. It wasn't Flare Blitz, but Ash couldn't remember seeing a move like that before. He watched as Eevee continued to evade by using Quick Attack, but- was it just him or was Vulpix getting faster?

His suspicion was confirmed as Vulpix suddenly accelerated and collided with Eevee's left flank, causing her to cry out in pain. Eevee spun around on reflex with bared teeth and bit Vulpix's shoulder in retaliation to make it squeal. But with the flames still wreathing her opponent's body, she was forced to release it quickly.

Vulpix wisely backed off before Eevee could bite it again and retreated to Courtney's side of the field. The girl was completely expressionless and it was making Ash a little wary. She was a lot different from any of the previous students- Courtney was detached, calculating, and cool. She hadn't shown even a hint of losing control of her emotions and continued the battle relentlessly.

Yes, he could see why she was the best student here.

Eevee was panting and glaring at Vulpix. She was irritated that the fire type had managed to catch up with her and her mouth stung after she bit into its flame-cloaked shoulder. She was pissed and annoyed and she wanted to beat the expressionless look off of that fox's face-

"Eevee."

She jerked her gaze back at Ash, who looked at her with concern. "Calm down. If you get riled up, we'll just be playing into their hands. Take a breath, girl."

Eevee really didn't want to. She wanted to take her anger out on their opponent and win. But she also respected Ash and his decisions, so she made an effort and took a deep breath while their opponents were regrouping. She felt a lot of the anger settle in the pit of her stomach and calmed down a bit. She was still quite furious with how easily Vulpix had outplayed and struck her, but she had a grip on it now.

Courtney was still watching them with her analyzing gaze. "Eevee has taken two direct hits. Accounting for the chance that it is of a higher level than Vulpix…remaining stamina likely at seventy-five percent. Enhanced offense necessary. Began attack phase two. Flame Burst."

Vulpix opened its mouth and spat a small fireball at Eevee, which exploded halfway to her and turned into several tiny fireballs. Each one was only good for a little bit of damage, but if they all hit then that damage would add up quickly. "Swift!"

Eevee retaliated by unleashing a flurry of energy stars, which collided with the Flame Burst and neutralized it. Ash saw Vulpix beginning to run towards them and narrowed his eyes. "Shadow Ball!"

The ghost type move was quickly formed and launched at Vulpix, who made to dodge until Courtney gave a new order. "Intercept it."

Ash stared in surprise when Vulpix charged right into the Shadow Ball and squealed as the powerful attack sent it skidding away. That had obviously hurt, so what was Courtney gunning for? He'd thought she was too calm to get overconfident and charge right into an attack.

He found out a second later. "Payback."

The blood drained from his face. "Eevee, dodge!"

Vulpix's tails glowed with a menacing black aura and it lunged at Eevee. Payback took the damage that had just been done by an enemy attack and transferred it into negative energy that could be directed back at the opponent. If it made contact, it was guaranteed to hurt.

Though Eevee made to evade the attack, Ash realized a major problem as Vulpix lunged with speed that was greater than before- it was faster than Eevee now even though it wasn't using the fire type move from earlier. He decided that the only way to avoid taking serious damage was to fight fire with fire. "Iron Tail!"

Eevee's tail glowed metallic silver as she charged Vulpix with a fierce cry. The fire type skidded to a stop and spun to lash its tails at Eevee as the normal type made a leap into the air and flipped forward, driving Iron Tail directly into Payback.

Ash watched tensely as the attacks pushed against each other for several seconds before Eevee and Vulpix were forced away from each other. Eevee flipped back and landed easily on her feet, although she looked tired. Vulpix skidded away, appearing to be equally exhausted as its Payback faded away.

Courtney's expressionless face had not changed. Ash wasn't sure what to make of that.

He clenched his fist. Vulpix had more battle experience than the other Pokemon he'd seen her thus far with the exception of Hitmonchan and maybe Cubone. It was well-trained and although it wasn't as powerful as Eevee, it obviously had a wide range of moves to shift the tide of battle in Courtney's favor. Who knew what else it could-

"-I forfeit."

Ash blinked dumbly. "Huh?"

Courtney recalled Vulpix and stared at him with that unchanging, calm gaze. "Eevee is too high a level for Vulpix to defeat. Any of our strategies would inevitably result in a battle of attrition at best. Eevee's higher stamina means it would win in the end. I calculate my chances of victory to be low at only 13%. There is no reason to continue fighting with such odds."

Eevee looked as dumbfounded as Ash. She wasn't sure if she should feel proud or insulted that her opponents had withdrawn early in the face of her strength.

Courtney glanced at Surge, who had an eyebrow raised, but hadn't said anything. "You may call the match. I am not of sufficient level to defeat him."

Surge grunted. "Well, if you're sure. Fine. The kid wins this round as well. That's all ten opponents cleared!"

Ash did feel proud for beating all ten of them. Though his battle with Courtney had ended prematurely, it had been a long streak that pushed him to adapt to each of his team's individual strengths one after another. Maybe that was what it was like to fight in a full six on six battle- he hadn't experienced one of those yet, but this was the closest he'd come thus far in his journey.

With the fighting over, he knelt as Eevee padded over to him. "Good girl."

She nodded, still a little confused after their opponent's surrender. Ash smiled at her. "I know that ended quicker than we thought, but you really did fight well, girl. I'm proud of you."

Eevee perked up a little, pleased by her trainer's praise. When had she started enjoying it when Ash expressed his pride in her? It had been a while since she started to care about his opinions. She didn't really remember how long it had been going on, but it felt good.

The sound of heavy boots interrupted their moment as Surge came up to them. The massive man grinned down at Ash and Eevee. "You guys did real good. How about you go heal up at the Pokemon Center? I can handle the rest of this class for the day. But you'll be coming back here every day at this time for more battle training with these kids."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "You want me to fight them all again?"

"Nothing as crazy as today," Surge assured him. "But you'll be facing a few of them to display certain battle skills every day. Simple stuff, but necessary. Plus who knows? Maybe you'll get that Krokorok of yours some practice with Moxie. It's still got a lot of trouble controlling itself."

"I know," Ash sighed. He picked up Eevee as he stood and looked at Surge again. "So, same time tomorrow?"

"Don't be late," Surge grunted.

He wouldn't be. Ash had a feeling Surge would go full military on him if he missed one of these classes. This was, after all, how he was paying the giant back for taking care of Pikachu.

He would own up to that.

* * *

"You guys did really well today," Ash told his team after he got them back from Nurse Joy. They were relaxing in his room in the Pokemon Center and felt much better after the many battles they'd fought. His team responded to his compliment with a chorus of happy sounds and Ash smiled. "I didn't think we'd be fighting ten opponents in a row. But we won't have to do that again while we're here. There'll be a few battles every day, but nothing as crazy as before."

He sat on the edge of his bed while his team crowded around him. Ash turned his PokeNav on and got to the notes section where he could jot down information for training. "Okay, since we're going to be fighting a lot, we'll keep working hard to get you guys ready for the St. Anne tournament, but I'm going to change a few things up for some of you."

"Pyro, I want you working on fighting in the air during these battles," Ash told him. "You won today, but Pidgeotto wasn't that experienced either. If you keep letting someone hammer you like that in midair, a stronger opponent might take you out. Work on dodging and making your attacks as accurate as possible, okay?"

The Charizard growled affirmative. Ash had no doubt that Pyro would annihilate every one of his opponents at the school, but he still wanted to work on evasion. His starter wasn't what most considered to be a tank and a powerful opponent would easily take advantage of his inability to dodge effectively. Increasing his evasion skills was priority number one for Pyro.

"Sobek," Ash looked at the croc, who was a little more put-out than usual after he'd snapped earlier. "I know that Moxie is difficult for you to control, but we've got to work on it. If you snap like that in the middle of battle, you could seriously hurt someone. We have to find a way for you to keep a hold of yourself whenever Moxie gets triggered, okay? I'm not sure exactly how, but maybe try focusing on something that keeps you calm?"

Sobek nodded slowly and Ash felt a little bad by how guilty the Krokorok looked. He knew he'd messed up by getting out of hand like that, but he just couldn't help it. Slipping into his rage and primal instincts was so _easy_ when Moxie caused his power to rise. It was intoxicating to him and felt completely natural, but he caused problems when he became drunk on that power.

He shook his head. They'd figure it out eventually.

"Eevee, I want you to focus on improving your battle skills," he told her. Eevee listened carefully as Ash went on. "You're really good at fighting, I just want you to get more experience, okay? Do your best and push yourself."

She chittered softly in response. Ash turned to Douse next.

"I know we've already talked about this, but keep working on Hydro Pump," Ash's lips curved up into a grin at the Poliwhirl's enthusiastic grunt. "You did really well defeating Hitmonchan with it today, but there's still room for you to improve it. If you work hard, maybe you'll master it by the time the St. Anne rolls around."

Douse beat his white fist against the spiral pattern on his belly and bounced, eager to please and master the water type move that would lead to his evolution. Ash really was looking forward to that one.

"Spectre," he glanced up at the ghost, who had taken to floating over Ash's head. "That was great how you used that new combination move earlier. I was thinking about calling it Ghost Flare. What do you think?"

The Duskull made a hollow sound of approval and Ash smiled. Ghost Flare was simply a Shadow Ball covered up by Will-O-Wisp. The opponents would see the flames, but not realize that there was a hidden move beneath them. Of course, no sane enemy would allow themselves to be hit by a fireball without good reason, but the hidden Shadow Ball beneath would be a very unpleasant surprise for anything that didn't outright resist ghost type moves.

"Ghost Flare it is. I want you to keep practicing it when we battle, but also make sure you work on your normal Will-O-Wisp as well," Ash told him. "There's a lot more we can do with that move once you get it down perfectly.

Spectre settled onto Ash's head and agreed with another hollow noise. Ash turned at last to Jasmine.

"You'll be doing pretty much the same as Eevee- just getting battle experience," Ash explained to her. "But I'd also like for you to work on Aqua Tail. It takes you a bit of time to use it effectively and it would have been great against Graveler today. You did really well beating it with Dragon Tail, but let's make sure we master Aqua Tail as well, okay?"

She trilled eagerly and her tail twitched in response. Ash smiled at his small dragon. She really was getting comfortable with him and the rest of the team and working just as hard as the others.

They wouldn't let him down.

* * *

"Stone Edge!" Ash shouted.

Sobek slammed his fist into the dirt field and launched a jagged pillar of stone right into Marowak's stomach, sending the ground type flying through the air. Ash grinned as Marowak hit the ground and passed out, unable to continue while Giselle puffed up her cheek in frustration. She had let her Cubone evolve about two days ago to give them a better shot at defeating Ash, but Sobek already had one Moxie boost up and he was still much stronger.

They'd been helping Surge and Norman train the students for nearly two weeks. The St. Anne was due to arrive in the next thirty six hours and Ash was more fired up than usual, as were his team. They'd made great progress by battling the Pokemon owned by Giselle and the rest of the students.

Spectre had gotten Will-O-Wisp down almost perfectly and subsequently had gotten better with his new Ghost Flare combination. Ash was so impressed with his progress that he tried to teach the little ghost how to use Hex, but they were drawing a blank on that particular move. It was going to take a while to learn.

Pyro's aerial skills were improving as he frequently participated in sky battles against Pidgeotto and other flying types owned my the students. He was still a bit stiff in his movements, but he dodged a lot of the attacks now and his accuracy was improving, although Ash still smirked when he remembered the Charizard's sheepish look when one of his Flamethrowers set a school tree on fire.

Douse had blasted that tree before it could burn to the ground with a nearly perfected Hydro Pump. It was absurdly close to being mastered and Ash was certain he would have it down by the time the St. Anne came into port. If Douse evolved by then, he would become a major player in the battles to come.

Eevee and Jasmine had both been gaining a lot of experience in battle. They were becoming as strong and efficient as other powerhouses in his team, defeating enemies swiftly and with increasing ease. Jasmine had been working on Aqua Tail more and although it still took her some time to prepare the water type move, there was noticeable improvement. Eevee had simply focused on increasing her power and now Ash winced whenever her Iron Tail made contact with an opponent- she'd somehow groomed that technique to the same caliber as her Shadow Balls.

His focus now was Sobek, and therein lay the problem.

Moxie had been an absolute pain to work on. Sobek couldn't maintain control past boost number three and the one time he got a fourth boost, Surge had to knock him out with Raichu (Ash still shivered when he remembered the vicious Brick Break Raichu delivered to the unsuspecting Krokorok) and practically chewed Sobek out right there on the field after he regained consciousness.

Sobek had been so frustrated. He just couldn't focus once the adrenaline kicked in. Ash had tried several different methods with him- staying calm, focusing on something he liked, even controlling his breathing in the middle of battle- nothing worked. Moxie was his own unique drug and its influence was too much for anything they'd thought up so far.

Back to the present, Sobek's victory over Marowak meant that he gained himself a second Moxie boost. His eyes flared with red as the power flowed through his body, a sensation that brought him pleasure and anger and a lust for more when the boost stopped. He snarled and flexed his claws as Giselle was replaced by Surge.

The electric Gym Leader now refused to let Sobek fight any of the students after he gained a second power increase. It was too dangerous for the students' weaker Pokemon and frankly, it made Ash feel better. Surge's Pokemon weren't to be coddled and proved time and time again that they were monsters to be reckoned with.

Raichu was their opponent today. The electric mouse snickered at Sobek while the croc bared his fangs in aggressive fury, ready to annihilate his opponent and get his next enhancement.

"Sobek!" Ash called. The Krokorok turned to stare at his trainer, who gave him a steady look. "Remember to stay calm. If you snap, I'll end the battle."

He snarled in displeasure, but obeyed. Sobek wanted another boost and running riot was usually the quickest way to get it, but he would fight under Ash's orders.

Surge crossed his arms across the field. "Close in with Quick Attack."

Raichu slipped into the speedy technique with a single step, blurring towards Sobek while the Krokorok roared a challenge. Ash snapped a counterattack immediately. "Stone Edge!"

Sobek slammed his fist into the ground and triggered a line of jagged stone to erupt from the earth, but Raichu leapt onto the stone blades and continued charging. Surge barked another order and then Raichu slammed a glowing fist into Sobek's skull, causing him to roar in pain from the super-effective Brick Break.

Ash gritted his teeth. Sobek lost control a lot more quickly when he took a lot of damage.

The Krokorok snarled, spittle flying from his jaws as he spun and smashed his tail into Raichu before the electric type could retreat. Raichu yelped, but it recovered quickly and landed on its feet. Sobek leered at it, but he had enough control to wait for Ash's next order. "Crunch!"

Sobek lunged with his jaws open wide, ready to sink his fangs into Raichu's body and tear it apart. The large electric mouse tensed as he got closer until Surge gave his own command. "Iron Tail!"

Raichu's long tail glowed silver as it spun, slamming the attack into Sobek's lower jaw and forcing his mouth closed. It followed up by delivering a horrifyingly powerful Mega Kick into the Krokorok's stomach on Surge's command, which knocked the breath out of Sobek and sent him flying in the opposite direction.

He landed face-first in the dirt and was unconscious immediately. The red haze of Moxie disappeared with his defeat.

Surge grunted as Raichu scurried over to him. "Show's over."

Fortunately, Sobek had only been knocked out for a brief few moments and upon regaining consciousness, glared balefully at the sniggering electric type. He pushed himself to his feet and his jaws opened just enough to let out a hateful hiss as he glared at the mouse. It was an irritating little thing and he wanted to just _crush_ it-

"Sobek!"

Sobek turned his glare on Ash, who was unfazed by the rage-filled eyes. "I know you want to fight again, but you've got to calm down."

Why?

Why did he have to be calm to use Moxie? His rage was heightened by the adrenaline, sure, but it made him stronger! What was the point of being calm? It didn't make him any stronger than his rage did! There was nothing to be gained by trying all these frustratingly useless techniques!

Suddenly he wasn't sure if Ash was worth the frustration.

Sobek forgot about Raichu as he glared at his trainer. Ash didn't understand what Moxie did to him- it was intoxicating in the best ways and trying to keep a lid on it was useless. He was trying to fight instincts that were completely necessary in battle! _Calm?_ Sobek didn't do _calm!_ Even before Moxie surged through him, he was always about aggression and relentless attacks! That was **him!** That was the way he fought!

If Ash didn't recognize that, he wasn't worthy of being his trainer.

Ash stared as Sobek fully turned towards him. "Sobek?"

The Krokorok's lips lifted into a snarl and then he _roared_ , letting all of his rage and frustration out in a single, terrible sound that sent shivers down Ash's spine. Sobek's baleful eyes were focused entirely on him as he took a step towards his trainer. Ash's eyes widened. Surely Sobek wouldn't-

-Sobek lunged.

Ash stepped back on sheer reflex and suddenly his eyes were mere inches away from those gleaming ivories that snapped so close to his face. The Krokorok roared again and some of the students watching let out panicked yells. Norman was hurriedly grabbing a pokeball from his belt and he heard Surge barking a command to Raichu-

He lifted his hand and placed it on Sobek's snout.

The Krokorok's eyes bulged as he glared at Ash for having the _audacity_ to ignore his fury. That hand wouldn't be on his nose for much longer if he had anything to say about it.

"I'm sorry."

Even in his rage, that threw Sobek for a loop. Sorry?

 _For what?_

Ash frowned at his partner. "This isn't working, is it? Trying to stay calm is making things worse."

Sobek growled. He wouldn't usually consider his trainer an idiot but that much should've been _obvious_.

Ash's hand slid from the top of his snout and under Sobek's jaw to scratch at the scales there. "It's not really us, right? You don't really do calm when you're fighting. I'm not sure how I forgot that."

…Okay so maybe Ash wasn't a _complete_ idiot. Sobek was still glaring at him, but he wasn't quite as interested in biting off his trainer's hand anymore. The boy was starting to get the right idea.

"We still can't let you rampage," he sighed. Sobek's lips curled up to reveal his teeth. He was going in the _wrong_ direction again.

"But there's no way to keep you calm," Ash went on, scratching at the Krokorok's scales while he met Sobek's eyes with his own. "Let's try a compromise."

How on earth did he plan on accomplishing that?

"No matter how angry you get," he murmured. "No matter how powerful you become, I want you to focus on just my voice. Nothing else. Don't try to calm yourself down, but don't lost control. I want you to win, Sobek. I want you to get stronger and stronger. I know you do, too."

Now there was something they could agree on. Sobek's snarl disappeared as he listened to his trainer. Ash smiled at him gently. "So I want you to trust me. Trust me when I tell you to do something and I'll trust _you_. We'll go with the flow, alright? No more holding you back."

Sobek silently considered his words before slowly nodding. Ash took his pack off and knelt down to open it up. "Let's get you a berry and a potion to help fix those wounds now, okay?"

The Krokorok grunted. He would trust Ash. His trainer hadn't truly let him down before.

Ash glanced up at Surge, who was still watching them warily while Raichu was perched on the giant's shoulder, ready to leap into action if necessary. "We're alright now, but can I have a minute to heal Sobek?"

Surge nodded, his eyes still guarded and obviously untrusting of the Krokorok who had almost attacked his own trainer. Raichu chittered something, but relaxed when the giant stepped off the field.

Ash gave Sobek an Oran berry and was spraying the Krokorok's wounds with a potion when he heard a commotion from the side of the field. Norman was speaking urgently into a PokeNav, looking more panicked than Ash could ever remember seeing him.

He blinked in confusion. "What's going on over there?"

They walked over to where Norman was still talking with a deep frown on his face. "Okay. I'll go check the docks now. Let me know if you find her."

He hung up and glanced at Surge. "I have to go. Can you watch the class for a while?"

Surge arched an eyebrow. "Something happen?"

"My daughter's gone missing," Norman replied. "She couldn't have gotten far, but my wife is panicking and Vermillion City is a big place. I have to go."

Ash frowned. He wanted to help- he liked Norman from the few times they'd spoken with each other and he wasn't completely necessary to help the class. "I'll help search too."

Norman shot him a grateful look and tapped the screen on his PokeNav a few times before showing Ash a picture of a small girl with short, brown hair and big blue eyes. "Her name is May. She's eight years old. My wife is going to search in the area by the Pokemon Center and I'm going to cover the docks."

That was most of the western section of Vermillion City, so Ash opted to try the east. "I'll check by the Gym and the gate to Route 11. Give me your PokeNav number so I can call you if I find her."

"Thank you, Ash," Norman said gratefully. "You're a huge help."

Surge had his arms crossed. "I'll stay here and let you know if she somehow pops up here, but don't leave me alone with these brats for too long. It takes all my self-restraint to not shock most of them into next month."

Ash hid a smile at that. He knew Surge was (mostly) joking, but it was still hilarious to see the students all collectively take a step away from him.

He glanced at Sobek. "Let's go find her, buddy."

Sobek agreed and ran off with his trainer.

* * *

They ended up scouring the area around Vermillion Gym first and checked the edge of town by Route 11 when they didn't find her there, asking around to see if anyone had seen May in the area. Unfortunately, no one had. Ash was about to call Norman to tell him that she wasn't around when he got a tip from a woman coming down from the northern part of the city- she had seen a little girl fitting May's description by the construction site just north of the Gym.

Ash had no idea what was being built, but it was apparently going to be a huge department store of some kind like the one in Celadon City. He and Sobek began to search around the site and called frequently to see if the girl would respond.

"May!" He tried again. "If you're there, call back! Your dad is looking for you!"

He went quiet, but there was no response. Ash sighed and took his hat off for a minute to run his fingers through his hair. It was pretty hot outside. "Geez, where is she?"

Sobek shrugged. He was just an extra pair of eyes to keep an eye out for the girl. It wasn't like he could call her name out.

They were just about to leave and try somewhere else when he heard a scream.

Ash froze. The voice belonged to a child, he was sure. He and Sobek ran towards the source and went faster when they heard an angry adult yelling. "Shut up, you brat! It's your own fault for running into us!"

They turned a corner to find out what all the commotion was for and-

-his heart stopped for a second.

Four men were surrounding a little girl, who was in tears and sobbing while one of the men gripped her arm painfully tight. That in itself would have been enough to make Ash intervene if it wasn't for the uniforms the men wore.

Black. Long sleeves and pants. Black hats. A large, red R on the front of their shirts.

Rockets.

He forgot how to breathe for a second. Memories of Pikachu being gored and nearly dying at the hands of Proton and the other Admins-

-a growl jerked him out of his stupor. Ash glanced at Sobek, who was baring his fangs and glaring with fury at the Rockets. Under any other circumstances, Ash would have recalled him and run to the nearest police station.

But they could not run.

Because the girl was definitely May. Ash recognized her from Norman's picture and he couldn't leave her with Rockets who were, for some reason, intent on hurting her. Even if it wasn't May, he could not abandon a child to Team Rocket's cruelty.

The grunts had yet to notice him or Sobek. One of them leered at May with an angry expression. "We're going to teach you a lesson. You don't get in the way of adults who have important business. Since you found out that we've been working on making this building into a new base, we can't let you go. You'll be coming with us and you won't be coming back here. If you try to get away, we'll break every bone in your little body."

May looked terrified and she sobbed again. The Rocket who'd just spoken raised his hand as if to hit her. "I said shut up, you stupid little-"

"Hey!"

The grunts whirled around as Ash yelled at them. He'd set Pyro loose to help out and the Charizard looked absolutely irate upon seeing the Rockets in front of him. He and Sobek were snarling menacingly, baring sharp fangs as they prepared to fight.

The Rocket that had been yelling at May (and who Ash assumed was the leader of this group) sneered at him. "Little boy, playing the hero here will only get you hurt. Run along and play somewhere else."

"I'm not playing with you," Ash growled. "I'm going to destroy you if you don't let her go."

The grunts laughed at that. He clenched his fist and snapped at them. "Don't believe me? Do any of you know what happened to your base in Celadon City?"

That shut them up, or at least it stopped their laughter. The lead grunt raised an eyebrow. "Ah?"

"I stormed that base and crushed it with my Pokemon," Ash declared. "I'll do the same to this new one you're trying to make here. There won't be anything left of it by the time I'm through."

It wasn't a total lie, but he hoped that the exaggeration would be enough to make the Rockets back off. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

"You stormed that base?" The leader said disbelievingly. "I heard that there were some children causing problems, but…well, whatever. If what you say is true, we'd be in for quite the promotion if we dragged you back to our Admin."

Ash grit his teeth. Fight it was, then.

"Pyro, blast them from the sky," he muttered. "Sobek, crush whatever comes your way. Let's make this quick. I don't want to risk them hurting her."

One grunt kept May in his grasp while the other three released two Pokemon each- a Zubat, Golbat, two Koffing, a Grimer, and a Houndour. Ash saw nothing he couldn't crush without much trouble. The lead grunt sneered at him. "Attack."

Pyro and Sobek went into action instantly.

The Charizard surged into the air and began to blast at the Zubat and Golbat with Flamethrowers. The bats evaded his first attack, but it kept going and slammed into one of the Koffing, igniting the poison type in a brutal explosion. He chased the bats as they tried to evade more of his fiery wrath, roaring after them in fury.

Sobek immediately punched the ground and triggered a Stone Edge, which pierced Grimer and cut the poison type in half. It was always gruesome to watch, but Grimer was biologically immortal to physical attacks. Though it was cut in half, the two parts would regrow into new Grimer. But for now, it was out of the fight. Sobek's eyes flared as Moxie surged through him.

Ash grinned darkly. As he expected, the grunts' Pokemon weren't very powerful without an Admin behind them. In the face of his two strongest Pokemon, they were just fodder.

Pyro had already dispatched the Zubat with another well-aimed Flamethrower and was currently slashing at the Golbat, who screeched and bit at him angrily. It wouldn't last very long against Pyro's fury. Sobek was shaking the Houndour ruthlessly in his jaws and hurled it at the Koffing that Pyro had blasted earlier. The resulting collision knocked out both of the Rockets' Pokemon and he roared as his second Moxie boost activated.

A shriek split the air as Pyro crushed Golbat out of the air with Mega Punch and Ash glared at the last Koffing floating by the Rockets. "Stone Edge!"

Koffing was sent flying as the blade of stone punched into its round body and it crashed to the ground beside the rest of the defeated Pokemon. The Rockets stared at Ash and his two Pokemon with shock.

"Maybe he really did storm our base," one of them muttered nervously.

"This kid is seriously bad news," the leader exclaimed. He reached for another pokeball and glared at the boy. "We don't have a choice. This was supposed to be a gift for Proton, but under the circumstances…I shall assume full responsibility."

Ash wasn't sure what he was expecting, but a Steelix was not high up on his list.

The titanic, iron serpent let out a titanic bellow and the ground shook beneath their feet. It glared at Ash and his team from twenty feet high with a fury that spoke of madness. The boy cringed. This wasn't one of the weak grunt Pokemon that they could beat with an attack or two- this was a monster probably on the same level as Proton's Rhydon.

Sobek snarled at it balefully and roared a challenge right back as Ash braced himself for a difficult fight.

"Steelix, the three before you are enemies," the lead grunt said casually with an evil sneer on his face. "Please turn them into stains on the street."

Steelix roared again and began to move.

"Pyro, get into the air! Blast it with Flamethrower!" Ash shouted. "Sobek, use Stone Edge to keep it away! Hammer it with everything you've got!"

The command was music to Sobek's ears. He slammed his fist into the ground and triggered several stone blades to erupt and crash into Steelix, although he was annoyed when they broke against the serpent's iron hide. Pyro surged into the air and unleashed a torrent of fire upon the steel type, but Steelix roared at him and generated a concentration of silver energy in its mouth.

Ash threw his hand up as it released the energy in a blinding energy beam. It had to be Flash Cannon. Pyro barely flew out of the way and spat another Flamethrower in response, but Steelix merely turned it's massive head to redirect it's Flash Cannon after the flying Charizard.

Sobek was annoyed that Steelix didn't even pay attention to his Stone Edges and instead slammed his foot into the ground, causing the earth beneath Steelix's body to give way into a Sand Tomb. The steel type roared with annoyance and glared at Sobek, then fired a blistering Flash Cannon at him instead.

"Sobek, dodge it!" Ash yelled.

The Krokorok dove out of the way and avoided the attack, which razed the ground and left a deep trench where Sobek had stood moments before. He kept rushing as Steelix tried to redirect the blast after him, but Flash Cannon was cut short as Pyro smote their enemy with a Flamethrower that took Steelix in the face, hurting the iron serpent enough for it to redirect its attention elsewhere. Sobek launched more Stone Edges at it, but they kept breaking upon contact with its incredibly tough hide.

Ash grit his teeth. Steelix was barely fazed by their assault- it hurt, yes, but they weren't doing enough damage. Ash didn't even want to know what would happen if it managed to connect one of its attacks with them.

What were they supposed to do?

Steelix suddenly turned its attention back to Sobek and its massive tail glowed bright silver. Ash blanched at the enormous Iron Tail as it swing down to crush his partner. "Look out!"

Sobek saw the attack coming, but to Ash's horror, he didn't dodge. Instead, his claws turned jet black and he retaliated with Foul Play. He was three Moxie boosts in and Ash could see the crimson glowing off his scales as he collided with the Iron Tail, pushing with every ounce of his might in order to win. Steelix was so heavy and powerful that his body was being cratered into the ground, but with a mighty roar and an enormous heave, Sobek hurled the Iron Tail back and made the enormous appendage collide with Steelix's face.

Steelix let out a metallic howl of pain as its own attack smashed it backwards. Its head hit the ground hard and left the mighty serpent stunned for several seconds even as the Rocket grunts yelled at it to get back up. Ash was relieved for a moment until he saw Sobek slump to his knees.

"Sobek!" Ash cried. He ran to his friend and crouched beside him, reaching out. "Are you okay?"

To his shock, Sobek grabbed his arm with his claws and clenched tightly enough to make him wince in pain. The Krokorok glared at him with crimson eyes and snarled. Ash stared back for a few seconds. His mouth set in a line.

"Sorry. I saw the Rockets and just…remembered all that happened before…" He shook his head. "Can you do this?"

Sobek nodded firmly. Ash took his friend's arm and helped pull him back onto his feet. Pyro growled above them, alerting the pair as Steelix managed to right itself and roar bloodlust.

Ash looked into Sobek's eyes steadily. "I trust you."

The Krokorok said nothing. Ash's lips curved up into a fierce grin. "Let's crush them together."

Sobek grinned right back with battle-lust alive in his eyes. He stepped forward to stand between Ash and the menacing Steelix.

And crimson flowed over him.

Ash watched as Sobek began to evolve- his form changing shape to become far bigger and taller. His arms put on more muscle and his claws grew in size until they were massive hooks, ready to spear and pierce anything. The legs became thicker and stronger. His tail lengthened and slowly waved back and forth as the spikes on his back grew in size. His skull, already a terrible weapon, doubled in size to match his new, massive body and the fangs within it turned into blades as large as steak knives.

When the light exploded away from him, Sobek's scales gleamed dark crimson and black, his pure white underbelly the only contrast. His eyes still gleamed red from the effects of Moxie, but he was no longer a Krokorok. Now he was a Krookodile.

And they were on the same wavelength at last. Ash didn't miss a beat and they began their assault together. "Stone Edge!"

Sobek roared, a terrible, massive sound that shook the air and slashed upwards with one of his powerful arms. The bladed rocks still shattered upon hitting Steelix's lower jaw, but the impact made the iron serpent jerk back and roar in pain.

Pyro blasted Steelix with a Flamethrower to follow up, but the serpent roared again and fired Flash Cannon once more. He managed to evade the attack, which gave Sobek the chance to lunge in close.

Ash glared at the serpent and decided it would be best to keep hammering away at its head. "Bite it's neck with Fire Fang!"

Sobek leapt up onto Steelix's body and climbed it's jagged form with ease, reaching the point right behind its head to sink his flaming teeth right into its hide. His powerful jaws combined with the incredible heat allowed him to break through its armor and caused Steelix to screech in pain. The massive serpent shook its head violently and then hurled Sobek off with a mighty heave, but the Krookodile landed on his feet and skidded back to a stop.

Steelix bellowed again and the massive, blade-shaped segments of its body began to spin as it dove towards the ground. Ash nearly lost his footing as it used Dig to tunnel underground, leaving its position invisible to him.

No way.

"Earthquake!" He roared.

Sobek roared with him and leaned back, clenching both fists tightly, then lunged down with fury gleaming in his eyes to hammer the ground. The earth in front of him heaved and then exploded upwards violently, sending massive chunks of rock and dirt into the air. Steelix was evicted from the tunnel it had made and into the air with a screech of agony as the shockwaves of Earthquake rent through its body.

Ash grinned almost maniacally. "Stone Edge! Flamethrower!"

Pyro and Sobek continued their assault with a vengeance, striking with blistering force as they attacked Steelix mercilessly. The iron serpent bellowed at them and tried to attack again with Flash Cannon, but a Stone Edge from Sobek jammed its mouth closed before it could fire the steel type move.

Steelix was getting overwhelmed, but it could still fight. Ash needed to find a weak spot on it to finish this battle before Pyro or Sobek tired. His eyes locked onto a small crack that was just visible on Steelix's lower jaw. An idea sprouted in his mind.

"Pyro, get above it and use Brick Break!" Ash commanded. "Hit the place where Sobek bit Steelix!"

Pyro roared in response and lunged upwards, then dove down with his arm glowing bright white. He slammed the fighting type move into the damaged section of Steelix's neck and caused the behemoth to screech in pain. It's head began to fall closer to the ground and Ash saw their chance to strike its second weak point.

"Sobek, Stone Edge!" He shouted. "Aim for the crack in its jaw!"

Sobek thrust his claws up and another blade of rock punched upwards, right into Steelix's weakened armor. This time, it punched through and hit the black body underneath the silver armor. Steelix shrieked again and its body flailed in pain. It's tail glowed silver as it swiped Iron Tail towards Sobek.

Ash grinned. "Finish it off! Foul Play!"

Sobek's claws turned black as night as he roared, slashing the dark type move right into Iron Tail. Before Steelix could blink, its own move was launched right back at its face and collided with the already cracked portion of its armor, doing terrible damage.

Sobek bared his fangs in delight as Steelix toppled to the ground with an enormous crash. Moxie sent another adrenaline boost flowing over him and he basked in the feeling, but he wasn't filled with uncontrollable fury anymore. The enemy had been crushed. The battle was over.

He turned to look at Ash and his trainer smiled. Sobek grinned back at him.

The Rockets looked ready to wet themselves. "H-he defeated Steelix?!"

"Retreat!" The lead Rocket gasped. "R-retr-ahh!"

He was cut off as Pyro landed in front of him, blocking off their escape route while the dragon glared at the Rockets hatefully. In their terror, they forgot about May and the girl took her chance to run towards Ash and Sobek. She was throwing her arms around him before he could react and sobbing tearfully.

Ash really had no idea how to deal with crying children, but he did his best. "Hey. Hey it's okay now. You're safe."

She sniffled and looked up at him, showing bloodshot eyes and watery blue irises. Her face was red from crying and she had tears flowing down her cheeks, but thankfully, she was unharmed. Ash repeated the words and suddenly she buried her face in his shirt and wailed.

"I-it was s-s-so scary…they were gon-gonna hurt me!"

He awkwardly hugged her back to reassure her. "They can't hurt you now. They're going to prison and you're safe. You're okay."

She sniffled again and nodded into his shoulder, clutching the fabric of his shirt like her life depended on it. Ash just held her until she settled down and pulled back a bit, but she kept one hand on his jacket, as if she were afraid he would disappear. The girl wiped her face clean of tears and looked up at him with a nervous expression. "Thank you."

He smiled and placed a hand on her head to ruffle her brown hair slightly. "You're welcome. Now, how about I call your dad, okay? Your name is May, right?"

"Mmhm," she mumbled. "I just wanted to go for a walk and then I got lost…"

"It's okay. Your dad will be here really soon," he assured her. May nodded and hugged him again, so Ash kept one hand on her head while he looked up at Sobek. "Go help Pyro keep those Rocket grunts and their Pokemon in check. Trap them if you have to. I'll get the police here soon."

Sobek nodded and began stalking towards his teammate and the Rockets while Ash got his PokeNav out and found Norman's contact number. The phone only rang twice before Norman picked up and he started talking. "Norman, it's Ash. I found her."

* * *

The arrests were made quickly and May was returned to her parents just five minutes after Surge arrived with the police at his back. He'd left the class and come personally when he found out that Team Rocket had shown up in his city.

The giant glared at the four captured grunts with an almost evil grin. "Oh…you're going to wish your mothers had kept their legs closed by the time I'm done with you."

They looked ready to piss themselves. Ash didn't pity them.

Norman was with his wife and May while the girl hugged her mother. The man looked up and walked over to Ash, laying a firm hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Words can't even describe how grateful I am to you right now," he murmured sincerely. "You saved my daughter from these criminals at the risk of your own life. Thank you so much, Ash."

"You're welcome," he replied. "Pyro and Sobek did all the hard work, though."

Norman looked up at the Charizard and Krookodile still glaring angrily at the arrested criminals and smiled. "Yes, I know they did. But they did so at your command. It takes real courage and talent to do what you did. So I say again, thank you."

Ash felt a small weight thump into his stomach and looked down to find May hugging him again. The girl looked up at him shyly. "Mommy says I should say thank you again."

He smiled down at her. "You're welcome, May. Make sure the next time you take a walk, you go with your mom or dad, okay?"

She colored a little and nodded sheepishly. "I will."

Surge interrupted them by walking over and calling Ash. "I hate to break up the celebration, but you should probably get your Krookodile to Nurse Joy. He looks good, but it's best to make sure he didn't have any complications evolving in the middle of such an intense battle."

Ash nodded. "I'll get him checked out now. Pyro! Sobek! We're heading to the Pokemon Center. We're done here."

The pair of massive reptiles (both of them were now easily taller than Ash) walked over obediently, though they cast a few last, baleful glares after the arrested Rockets. Ash recalled them into their pokeballs and made to leave when May called to get his attention one more time.

"Hey! What's your name?" She asked.

He grinned and called back over his shoulder. "My name's Ash."

* * *

Two mornings later and he was standing at the docks with a whole crowd of people around him.

Ash could feel the blood pumping through his veins as he held the ticket he'd earned from Surge three months earlier in his hand with an iron grip. He couldn't stop grinning as he watched the massive, white ship slowly make its way into the port.

The St. Anne was here at last.

* * *

 **A/N: A couple of huge milestones have been reached- first and foremost, this is THE biggest chapter I have ever written, at a colossal 30k words. I wanted to get everything cleared up and get the St. Anne arc underway, but this turned out to be utterly massive. Second of all, you guys blew me away by providing over a hundred reviews since chapter twelve came out. That is a record for me and frankly I was shocked by all of the fantastic feedback, so consider this enormous chapter your reward for being such fantastic readers.**

 **A shoutout to 0 Jordinio 0, Flyg0n, and Whatwasthatnoise for helping me with edits in the earlier chapters and advice with the story. I'm still working on the earlier chapters, but up to about chapter five has been edited of all typos and errors. I will continue to make fixes as I go.**

 **Without further ado, to the review responses for chapter twelve!**

 **Vallavarayan:** **I don't see why he does not ask for Rhydon to be exchanged for a younger Pokemon that he wants- it even look at what the league is willing to trade for him.**

 **-The league doesn't really work like that. There are sites available where you can talk with other trainers about trading Pokemon, but I didn't do that because Rhydon still has a part to play in the story ;)**

 **vaporeonxglaceon: Still love this fiction. It is amazing, keep up the awesome work. And I can't help but think about what that Eevee of his will evolve into. I am thinking it will either evolve into Espeon or Umbreon. But it could evolve into Sylveon for all I know. Just thinking about it makes me all giddy.**

 **-I suppose only time will tell! As you've found out in this chapter, not even Eevee is sure what she wants yet~**

 **Brokkers: Just wanted to say that I am really enjoying the story so far. It's incredibly rare to find a fiction that combines great ideas with excellent writing. Long may you keep up the fantastic work and I really look forward to seeing what other Pokemon you give Ash, and how his team evolves :P. One question, which you may have already been asked before, but will you be lifting the limit on Ash only having 6 Pokemon? I think that could allow for new characters and dynamics that would be very entertaining, not that I want to tell you what to do. Thanks again and I'm looking forward to the next update!**

 **-I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! It takes a lot of time and work to get these chapters done, especially chapters of this size so the appreciation is, well, very much appreciated! In regards to the six Pokemon limit being lifted, I can't say much without spoiling but there will be points in the story where his whole team gets to be together at the same time. I hope you liked this** **chapter as well!**

 **stars90: Fantastic work as usual. I love the way that you had Pyro evolve to save him from an Aerodactyl again, while still making it a very different situation. Putting your own spin on things while still giving a shout out to the character you're emulating. I also really enjoyed yet again your well-thought out scientific explanations of Pokemon traits like Dry Skin. I'm curious though, how is Ash going to handle the power differential between Pyro and the others now that Pyro is fully evolved?**

 **-Thak you very much! I admit I've always been a fan of the Charizard vs Aerodactyl from the old anime, so I was inspired to do something similar whilst also adding my own twist to it. The Dry Skin science took a fair bit of thought on my part, but I'm glad you enjoyed the result! As for how Ash will handle the power difference, there'll be times when he pits multiple opponents against his strongest teammates so that the weaker ones have a fair shot at defeating his higher level powerhouses.**

 **That's all for chapter thirteen, everyone! I hoped you enjoyed it and as always, please review and thanks for reading! Next chapter begins the St. Anne arc! I'm looking forward to enjoying it with all of you!**


	14. Battle Voyage

_Chapter Fourteen: Battle Voyage_

"Tickets, please! Make sure you have your tickets ready at the boarding point!"

Ash winced at the loud megaphone, but he didn't stop smiling. He was too excited to be put off by some loud noise.

The boarding process for the St. Anne was actually relatively quick, there were just lots of people that were getting on. Fortunately, he'd gotten up a little earlier than normal to make it here ahead of the crowd. He'd made sure to drop by Vermillion Gym one last time to say goodbye to Pikachu and Lt. Surge, then rushed for the docks to get at the front of the line.

He hadn't seen Leaf or Gary yet, but Ash was sure that they'd get here sooner or later. The ship was going to stay in port most of the day to restock and refuel, and would set sail in the afternoon. It gave him time to settle down and explore the ship before the cruise really got underway. The ride to Cinnabar Island would take about five days, during which time there would be a huge tournament on the ship for rare prizes.

Ash couldn't stop grinning at the thought of it. He was going to win that tournament. His team had gotten a lot stronger in the last three months and worked so hard for this. They could definitely pull it off.

"Ticket, please," one of the crewmen asked of him when Ash got to the front of the line. He handed his ticket over and the man scanned it for a few moments. "You're in First Class-016. Front right side of the ship, third floor from the top. Enjoy your stay."

"Thank you," he said politely, then walked past the crewman and onto the St. Anne.

Ash wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but the degree of luxury on the ship was a little overbearing at first. Fine, rich carpet made up the floors, there were beautiful paintings almost on every inch of the walls, and unusual art pieces lay on display in glass boxes by the entrances to various parts of the ship. The people on board were mixed between trainers like himself and wealthy citizens, but they all looked excited to be there.

The St. Anne itself was utterly massive- one of the biggest ships in the world. The vessel measured a colossal 1,100 feet from one end to the other and had the potential to hold 4,000 guests at double capacity plus their Pokemon and the nearly 2,000 crew members that ran it. In addition, the St. Anne was also relatively young since its maiden voyage had only gone underway just over a year earlier. It was ranked as one of the safest, most high-quality vessels in the ocean and considered a pinnacle of luxury.

He wanted to set Eevee loose, but decided it would be best to do so in his room with the rest of the team, so he could explain the cruise to them. Ash found a map of the ship before too long (which thankfully was quite easy to read) and figured out how to get to his room. He also grabbed a pamphlet that had a list of guest services and things to do on the ship. After all, it wasn't like he'd be doing nothing but fighting while he was here.

This _was_ supposed to be a vacation.

* * *

He found his room without much trouble, but he had to take a second to make sure that it was actually the right one. It was just way more than he expected.

The place was lavish and looked more fit for a celebrity than a traveling Pokemon trainer- it was bigger than pretty much every room in his house. The king sized bed was huge (he could probably fit his whole team on there if Pyro couldn't set it on fire) and had several fluffy pillows over soft, white sheets. The floor was a comfortable beige carpet and along the back wall on either side of the bed were two large cushions meant for his Pokemon. He was pretty sure Pyro and Sobek would claim those for themselves, which was fine since Eevee and Jasmine seemed to prefer bunking with him. Spectre didn't really sleep much and when he did, he also tended to rest close to Ash.

He didn't doubt for a second where Douse would be. Ash looked at the left side of the room by the bathroom and saw a small hot tub. There was a shower as well, but the pool would be nice for Douse to relax in and thankfully both had tile around them to make cleaning any splashes easy. Along the right wall was a small desk with a list of guest services, a mini fridge, and a television. There was also a closet, but he didn't plan on using it.

Ash placed his backpack on the floor by the foot of the bed and stretched his arms over his head. He really did need this. They all did.

He set his whole team loose and they took a few moments to examine their surroundings. This was, after all, a lot different from their typical campsite. Sobek didn't seem to have the foggiest idea about any of it and Eevee looked like she had just been placed on a different planet. Pyro looked the least bit affected by the new room, though he lifted his tail a little higher off the ground to keep the floor from getting burnt. Douse immediately made for the small pool and dove in with a small splash. Spectre floated over to the closet (Ash was pretty sure he'd spend most of his time in there, waiting to scare the life out of the employees who came to clean the place) and Jasmine slithered onto Ash's bed, trilling with delight at the soft sheets. She rolled around on the bed while making happy sounds and the sight brought a smile to his face.

"So, I'm sure you're all wondering what's going on," Ash began. When his team (or most of them, seeing as Spectre was already hiding in the closet and Jasmine was still rolling in his sheets) responded with a variety of confused noises, he grinned. "We're on the St. Anne now, guys. I know I told you all about the tournament, but that's only part of the cruise. The rest of the time, we can relax and have some fun!"

Jasmine apparently heard that last bit and trilled joyously as she snuggled herself even further into Ash's bedsheets. Eevee's ears twitched in amusement at her friend's happiness and leapt onto the massive bed to join the small dragon. Douse pumped a fist into the air and began to float on his back leisurely and Spectre, as expected, was nowhere to be found- he'd already settled himself in the dark closet and all Ash heard of him was a low, hollow chuckle.

It would not be a surprised to find one of the crew members passed out in here later, he told himself.

Pyro and Sobek seemed unsure what to do, but Ash smiled at them. He had a feeling they'd be a little lost, but he made sure that the rest of the team heard him as well. "Guys, there's a whole ship for us to enjoy! Why don't we go outside for a bit and take a look around? We can get some sun and check out everything while we're at it!"

That did the trick. Even Eevee looked eager to get out and about. While he was sure Spectre would remain in the room (the little ghost was rather fond of the dark, after all) and Douse as well since his partner was thoroughly relaxed in the tub of water, the rest of his team looked quite enthusiastic about exploring.

Ash got them all gathered by him and glanced at Douse, who was still floating belly-up. "Hey, Douse, make sure you and Spectre stay here until I get back. It's a big ship and it's easy to get lost in, alright?"

Douse acknowledged him with a thumbs-up before letting his arm drop into the water and gurgling in bliss. Ash smirked at his friend. He really was happy in that hot tub.

He looked at the closet next. "Spectre, same to you! Don't go floating through walls and scaring people, either!"

Ash was pretty sure he heard a noise of distinct disappointment, but knew that Spectre would heed him. The little ghost would get plenty of chances to scare people when they knew the ship a little better.

Pyro, Sobek, Eevee, and Jasmine were eager to go, so he led the way out of their room. "C'mon guys, let's g-uh!"

As he opened the door, Ash immediately crashed into someone moving at high speed, knocking them both to the floor. He hit the ground hard, but was instantly back on his feet to glare at the person responsible. "Watch where you're- Gary?!"

Gary Oak winced as he pulled himself off the ground with a groan. "Ow ow ow…huh? Oh, it's just Ash. What's up!"

Ash's glare faded into an expression of annoyance. "Don't just run into me like that. What are you in a hurry for? Actually, scratch that, how did you know where my room was?"

" _Your_ room?" Gary arched an eyebrow. "This is _my_ room!"

He blinked dumbly. "Ah?"

Gary held his ticket up and Ash read the room assignment. "First Class-016…Hey, that's what my ticket says!"

"What!?" Gary's jaw dropped. "Why do we have to share a room?!"

Ash stared at the tickets before it clicked in his head. "Surge gave these tickets out, but I thought mine was the only first class since I beat him before anyone else…"

"He told me something similar," Gary replied slowly. "Something about my skills being worthy of the only first class ticket…"

Ash's eyelid twitched. He suddenly had a disturbingly clear image of Lt. Surge laughing uproariously at them floating around in his head. "That geezer played us!"

"Looks like it," the other boy grunted. "Well, since we're splitting a room, lemme get settled in here and then we can go explore the ship! How's that sound?"

He nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Gary walked into the room then and came face-to-face with over half of Ash's team. His eyes grew wide. "Holy shit, Ashy boy! Your midgets got big!"

Pyro snorted and Sobek puffed his chest out a little. Eevee looked more irritated with their unexpected guest than anything and Jasmine was futilely attempting to hide behind her friend while peering at Gary. His sudden arrival had startled her.

Gary stared at the Dratini with a huge grin. "Gramps wasn't pulling my leg! You actually got a Dratini!"

Jasmine tried to hide behind Eevee some more (an already futile motion) until Ash walked around and knelt to scratch her scales soothingly. "Easy, girl. That's just Gary- he's a rival of mine. He's pretty noisy, but he's a good guy, alright? Oh yeah, he's also Daisy's little brother. Remember her?"

Jasmine did remember Daisy, perking up a little at the mention of her. She adored the elder Oak sibling for all of the delicious treats and decided that Gary was worth giving a shot. It wasn't like he'd meant to startle her or would do so later.

Gary looked at Ash's team and then around the room with an impressed expression. "Dang, this place is real nice. We'll sort sleeping arrangements out later, but since I got to see your team, I'll let you see mine, too. Let me just put my bag up."

He went for the closet and Ash smirked in anticipation as his blissfully unaware rival opened the doors-

-Spectre practically howled and his red eye glowed brightly while his wispy limbs flailed in the air. Gary shrieked with a rather high-pitched voice and fell flat on his butt, then scrambled to get away from the little ghost. "GAAHHHH WHAAAT THE HELL?!"

Ash lost it as hysterics took control his body and made him double over until he couldn't breathe. The rest of his team were roaring with mirth and even Eevee was sniggering a little. Gary was still on the floor and staring at Spectre with a pale face while he clutched his racing heart. The little ghost was laughing hollowly in glee and seemed barely able to keep himself floating in the air.

Gary turned very slowly to stare at Ash, who by now was trying to wipe the tears out of his eyes. His face was red in contrast to Gary's white and the massive grin firmly planted there was starting to hurt his cheeks. "That's Spectre's closet!"

"That wasn't funny!" Gary snapped from the floor. "I almost had a heart attack!"

"It was _hysterical_ and you know it," Ash sniggered. He took a deep breath and winced at the pain in his sides from all the laughter, but his smile was still quite cheery. "Nice one, Spectre. Better save that one for other people, though. Gary'll be expecting it, now."

Spectre didn't look dissuaded at all and Gary eyed the little ghost suspiciously. "Well, whatever. I won't mess with your closet. Remind me never to go into empty rooms at your house, Ash. That took like ten years off my life."

"Sure," he sucked in another big gulp of air and finally regained control over the hysterical giggles. Ash held a hand out and helped Gary to his feet. "So, your team?"

Gary's face returned to normal and he grinned. "Right!"

He set loose all six of his Pokemon then and Ash's eyes widened in surprise at more than one of them. The first one that appeared was, of course, his Wartortle, who looked as powerful and confident as ever. Ash knew that Wartortle's confidence was well-deserved- he was by no means a weakling and the boy was sure Gary had polished his starter even further since the last time he'd seen the water type.

Next was an enormous Pidgeot that stood almost as tall as Pyro. That was an interesting one because Pidgeot rarely got to that size if they'd only recently evolved. The signs of the recent change lay in the relatively short crest upon her head, which marked her as both a female and an adolescent Pidgeot. The crest was still mostly red with streams of yellow that were becoming more bold, but it would be a few weeks yet until Pidgeot's colors fully came in. She was a magnificent bird, though she met Pyro's gaze with a rather arrogant expression.

The third was Kadabra, who appeared to be in great condition. His short fur was well-groomed and the spoon he held was shiny, brimming with a faint blue glow from his telekinetic powers. The psychic type's eyes flashed in recognition upon seeing Ash and he nodded at the boy, to which Ash nodded back.

Gary's fourth was the same Machop Ash had fought way back when and the little fighting type looked close to evolving. His muscles were considerably larger and more refined, and the light gray skin was starting to darken slightly. He was curious to see how much stronger the fighting type had gotten. Machop and its evolutionary line were prized for having incredible physical strength, but Ash hadn't had much of a chance to see that power firsthand.

Number five was a real eye-opener, though. It looked like Gary's Nidorina had evolved.

The Nidoqueen in front of him wasn't as big or regal as the one Ash had seen in Giovanni's gym, but she was still an impressive specimen. She stood as tall as Sobek at just over five feet and held a commanding air, with a short, strong horn on her head and thick blue and beige armor over her body. She had powerful arms and legs with blunt claws, large ears, and a relatively short tail that swayed slowly from side to side. Ash knew that despite appearances, that tail was a great weapon- it was pure muscle and could pack enough of a wallop to casually destroy boulders if Nidoqueen so wished it.

Nidoqueen blinked at him and his team calmly, though her eyes glinted just slightly upon seeing Pyro. Ash recalled that Pyro had been one of the first opponents to defeat Nidoqueen before either of them had evolved. Evidently, she was eager to set the record straight now that they had both reached their adult forms.

Gary's final Pokemon was completely unexpected- an Eevee. Ash stared at the small canine who sat next to Gary's feet obediently. It was about the same size as his own Eevee and although it seemed somewhat lazier, there was no denying the healthy coat and lithe form of the small normal type.

"Where did you-"

"-the Game Corner, remember?" Gary interrupted. He knelt down to pet his Eevee and the little creature yipped happily. "He was the Pokemon I won from the slots. I got worried since the Rockets had put him up for a prize, but Gramps checked him out and he's fine."

Ash nodded and swallowed a little at the mention of the Rockets- and Professor Oak. "Did you tell him about Celadon?"

"Hell no!" He said immediately. "He'd have my hide if he knew what we pulled! I just got that cast off my wrist, you know? You didn't say anything either, did you?"

Ash shook his head. "I figured you'd say something. I didn't really know what to tell him or my mom. It just…I couldn't think of anything to say."

Gary looked more sympathetic and sighed. "We'll tell them eventually, I'm sure. It's not like we can totally pull the wool over their eyes, especially Gramps. He'll figure it out one way or another. He's too deep in the League to not hear about stuff like that. Maybe he already knows and is just waiting to lecture us in person."

That was a possibility that neither boy was looking forward to.

"Anyways," Gary continued. "Enough of that. What do you think, guys? Who's staying and who's going exploring?"

The question was directed at Gary's team and the members made their decisions quite quickly. Wartortle seemed torn for a few moments, but eventually opted to join Douse in the hot tub. Pidgeot hopped over to her trainer and made a short chirp of confirmation. Kadabra sat down in the middle of the room and began to meditate by making his spoon float into the air and fixing his gaze upon it.

Machop deigned to join Gary and Eevee as well, though Nidoqueen plodded over to one of the massive cushions by the bed and settled down on it. Ash was rather surprised by how quickly she curled up and made to sleep- Nidoqueen didn't strike him as a lazy creature.

But Gary watched the massive poison type settle down fondly. "She only just evolved the other day, so her legs are a bit sore from all of the new weight. Let's get going! I wanna figure out where everything is before Leaf gets here!"

Ash grinned back. Competitive, as always.

* * *

Neither of the boys could believe the size of the St. Anne- sure, they'd heard about it and seen the ship from the outside, but there was so much more on the inside than they'd expected. The cafeterias were absolutely massive and there was also a luxury dining hall for dinner. Throughout the various floors of the ship were many, many different rooms and locations to do pretty much whatever they could think of- arcades, souvenir vendors, a Pokemon Center, night clubs, show rooms, a movie theater…There was even an area on the second floor from the top solely for training Pokemon. Trainers could reserve one of the relatively large rooms to train privately if they so wished.

And that was just some of the vessel's attractions. The deck of the ship had three floors, all exposed to the outside air and the sunlight. Hundreds of pool chairs were present on the wooden deck, congregating around a pair of massive pools in the shape of a pokeball with a large hot tub in the center. There was a large water slide which looped over the pool from the top deck floor and an open area nearby for people and Pokemon to sunbathe in. Speaker systems were set up all around, playing upbeat, party-themed music that complimented the atmosphere.

Once they got onto the deck, Pyro and Pidgeot let out happy sounds and took to the air, reveling in the sea breeze and the heat of the sun. Ash smiled up after them, shifting his hat a bit to keep the light out of his eyes. He was sure that was where they would be spending most of their time. A few other flying types were hovering over the ship, some belonging to trainers, but most of them were Wingull looking for free bits of food. The sea birds squawked indignantly as the Charizard and Pidgeot invaded their airspace, but wisely did not attempt to stop them.

Gary grinned at the pair of massive fliers. "Hopefully they'll get some good exercise flying around like that. Pidgeot needs to stretch her wings more."

"Pyro, too," Ash admitted. "He's had a lot of trouble flying. He crashed and busted a tooth the first time. I had to pull it out and he accidentally jammed it in my hand."

His rival winced. "Ouch. I was wondering why you had a bandage on that."

"It sucked," the boy agreed. "Nurse Joy chewed me out for it."

"Well, at least you've still got all your fingers, right?"

Ash nodded, watching as Pyro landed on the uppermost deck and yawned, flashing the razor sharp teeth he was all-too familiar with. The Charizard settled down then, spreading his wings over the wooden deck and closing his eyes to bask in the sun's warmth. Sobek looked at his teammate longingly and glanced at Ash. The boy smiled. "Go on, Sobek. We'll be back in a little while."

Sobek hissed in delight and stalked towards the spiral staircase that would take him to his fire type ally. Several people watched him with mixed expressions of interest and wariness- Ash didn't blame them for that. Sobek looked rather intimidating and it wasn't like Krookodile as a species had a particularly good reputation. But he knew the ground type wouldn't bother anyone and sure enough, Sobek made straight for the top without causing trouble and settled down with Pyro as soon as he got there. The pair piled on top of each other as usual and Ash snorted at the dumbfounded faces of the people who stopped to stare at the massive reptiles.

Gary smirked. "That'll get some attention."

"Those two will sleep right through it," Ash chuckled.

Beside him, Jasmine trilled agreement and Eevee just snorted. They, along with Gary's Pokemon, had gotten quite a few looks while they explored the ship. Thankfully, no one really bothered them. Mostly everyone on board was busy getting settled and preparing for the St. Anne to set sail. That was good for Jasmine, who had been rather nervous with all the people staring at her- Dratini were incredibly rare, after all. Eevee didn't care, though she and Gary's Eevee had drawn a fair few gazes themselves.

But it wasn't like they were the only Pokemon running around. Many of the passengers- trainers or otherwise- were wandering the ship with their own partners. Ash saw several Pokemon he was familiar with and almost as many that were alien to him. The St. Anne didn't just attract locals, after all. Many people from different regions would be sailing with them and bringing their exotic species along for the ride.

Several of the Pokemon were ones Ash recognized from the endless hours he spent poring over the Pokedex. He saw an elderly gentleman with a Noctowl on his shoulder, though the bird seemed rather irritated with the sunlight. There was a boy perhaps a little older than him sitting in a shaded area on the deck with a Luxray dozing at his side and a Skarmory preening its metallic feathers just behind him.

There were even some he didn't recognize immediately, as well. A teenage girl with waist-length black hair was walking from one end of the deck to the other with a large feline beside her that was reminiscent of a Persian, but its fur was deep violet with yellow rings and the tail was a lot longer. There was also a small black and blue reptile trailing behind the girl that seemed to be blind, as it kept bumping into things and she would pause frequently to call to the little creature.

Ash was astounded by the number of Pokemon and the range of species before them. He wondered if this was what the Indigo League would look like in a year and a half. It was a taste of what was to come.

"Hey Gary! Ash!"

Both boys were jerked out of their observations by a familiar call. They turned to the right as Leaf came running over with a wide smile on her face and Teddiursa in hot pursuit.

Gary grinned at her. "Better late than never!"

"I'm not late, you goof," she scoffed as she reached them. "The ship won't set sail for another few hours at least!"

Teddiursa waved at the small group of Pokemon, though he seemed confused trying to figure out which Eevee was which. Gary's Eevee and Jasmine sent their own greetings back and Machop just nodded. Ash's Eevee twitched her ears in a quick acknowledgement and sat down to lick her fur. It was _hot_ outside and she felt like all the grooming in the world wouldn't be enough to keep herself clean.

Ash noticed the normal type's problem and knelt beside her. "Do you want to head back to the room until it cools off, girl?"

She nodded. Eevee liked being outside, but the air on the deck was stiflingly hot even with the sea breeze. She'd come out to enjoy herself when dusk came around and things were cooler.

He looked up at Leaf and Gary from where he was kneeling. "I'm going to take Eevee back to the room real quick. It's too hot outside for her like this. Do you guys want to meet back up here?"

"Sure," Gary agreed, turning his head up as Pidgeot landed on the railing of the uppermost deck floor close to the dozing forms of Pyro and Sobek. "I think we'll be settling up there with them. How about I go and hold that spot with them and you guys can go get changed or something? It's too hot to stay out of the water!"

"Sounds good!" Leaf exclaimed. "I'll go grab Seadra! I left her in the pool at my room- it's first class!"

Ash and Gary both rolled their eyes at the news. That didn't surprise them one bit. It seemed Surge had rewarded first class tickets to most of the trainers that had defeated him.

The giant was a troll like they'd never seen.

"I can get Douse and Wartortle back at the room," Ash added. "I'm sure they'd like to swim. So I'll see you guys in a bit?"

His friends both nodded before the trio set off. Gary took Machop and his Eevee up to the top deck (his Eevee didn't seem bothered by the heat at all) along with Leaf's Teddiursa, who seemed eager to make friends. Leaf ran back to her room on the opposite end of the ship and Ash took his Eevee and Jasmine to their own quarters.

Once they were back inside with the air conditioning, Eevee let out a sigh of relief. Ash smiled at her. "It's pretty hot outside, isn't it, girl?"

Eevee just mumbled at the vast understatement and Jasmine trilled with amusement at her friend. She liked the normal type a lot, despite her dramatics. She was fun to be with and talk to, if a little more closed off than their male companions. But she opened up to Jasmine more than anyone else aside from Ash, and the Dratini was grateful for the normal type's trust.

She was Jasmine's best friend.

* * *

They made it back to the room and the sound of the door opening got the attention of the residents inside. Douse and Wartortle were still floating in the hot tub and greeted the trio with lazy waves of their arms. Nidoqueen opened one eye, but closed it when she discovered that Gary hadn't returned. Kadabra didn't even shift his focus from the spoon still floating in midair. Ash assumed Spectre was still in the closet.

As long as he wasn't floating around the halls scaring the life out of people.

Jasmine immediately made for the bed and started rolling in the sheets again with happy trills. She really did love the soft sheets and Ash couldn't stop his chuckle. Eevee followed her friend with calmer steps, but once she leapt onto the bed, she made herself comfortable quickly and began to groom her fur.

Ash smiled at the normal type. "Do you want a bath later, Eevee?"

Eevee looked up at him to nod almost immediately. She hadn't forgotten the wonderful bath in Fuchsia and frankly the sound of another was music to her ears. Jasmine made an eager trill and gave Ash a delighted look, causing him to blink. "You too?"

Jasmine nodded her head up and down so quickly he feared for a moment that it would fly off. He held his hands up quickly to keep the Dratini from wrenching something in her slender neck the wrong way. "Okay, okay! I'll give you a bath too, Jasmine."

The Dratini was delighted and practically squealed before rubbing her face in the bedsheets again. Ash snorted as Eevee gave her friend an amused look. While she returned to her grooming and Jasmine snuggled in the bed, Ash grabbed his swim trunks and went into the bathroom to change.

The lock on the door had been flipped for just a minute when the Pokemon in the room were startled by Ash's scream. "AHH! _SPECTRE!"_

A hollow cackle and a brief commotion from the inside of the bathroom had Eevee rolling her eyes while the rest of the Pokemon stared at the door in concern. Even Kadabra removed his focus from the spoon to observe the bathroom door.

A minute later, Ash came out wearing a blue and white tank top along with his Pokemon-themed swim shorts, but his hat was on Spectre's head and the boy was blushing furiously. He glared at the little ghost with more than a small amount of embarrassment. "If you want my hat that badly, ask! You don't have to steal my trunks _after I put them on_ to ransom for it!"

Spectre just cackled again in glee and tipped the hat on his head with a wispy limb. Jasmine trilled in a giggle fit while Nidoqueen snorted with amusement. Kadabra returned to his meditation, but Douse and Wartortle started roaring with laughter. Eevee only eyed her trainer and ghost type ally with a dry expression before returning to her grooming.

Ash's face remained red even as he cleared his throat to try and regain what little dignity he had left. "Anyways. Douse and Wartortle, how about you two come with me to the deck? There's a huge pool out there and Leaf's Seadra is going to swim as well."

The pair of water types didn't need to be asked twice. They got out of the tub and followed Ash, ignoring the dripping trail they made. He had a feeling there'd be plenty more of that and ignored it for the time being. He looked at his two best girls and smiled- Eevee was still grooming and Jasmine had rolled onto her back while she slid across the soft sheets. "I'll be back in a little while, okay girls?"

They acknowledged him quickly and so left Ash to glance at Spectre. A bit of red filled his face as the ghost sniggered. "Just don't cause trouble, okay?"

Spectre tipped the hat on his head. For all his pranking, he wouldn't actually cause any problems for them- Ash trusted his friend.

"Now then, let's go," Ash sighed as he opened the door to lead Douse and Wartortle to the pool outside. The pair of water types followed him faithfully while the Pokemon remaining in the room settled down.

* * *

They were almost to the elevator when Ash turned a corner and bumped into someone who turned out to be quite familiar. He quickly backed up and made to apologize to the man before realizing who he was.

"Norman?" Ash said.

"Well, look who it is?" Norman looked at the boy with a smile. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Wha-" He stammered. "What are you doing here?"

Norman crossed his arms and leaned against the hallway wall. "My family needed a vacation and thankfully I was able to book some tickets for this. Surge told me you'd be here, but I decided to keep it a secret to surprise you if we bumped into each other."

"Consider me surprised," Ash replied. He regained his composure and smiled back. "So how's-"

He was cut off by a small blur thumping into his stomach as he heard a delighted peal of laughter. May, clad in an adorable pink swimsuit, threw her small arms around him and squeezed tight while she giggled. "It's Ash!"

Ash smiled down at the girl and set his hand on her head to ruffle her hair slightly. "Hey there, May. How are you?"

"I'm great!" She looked up at him with a big smile. "Isn't this boat huge?! It's the biggest thing I've ever seen!"

"It's huge, alright," he agreed. May let him go and turned her attention to the pair of water types staring at them with confused expressions. "Who are they?"

Ash glanced at the pair with a smile. "The Poliwhirl is Douse, and that's Wartortle."

Douse and Wartortle grunted their greetings while May waved at them cheerily. Norman blinked curiously at the sight of the turtle, however. "I didn't know you had a Wartortle."

"He's not mine," Ash said quickly. "He belongs to a friend that I'm splitting a room with. We were going to meet him and another friend of ours by the pool."

"Can I come?" May exclaimed as her eyes darted between her father and Ash. "I wanna go swimming too!"

Norman glanced at his daughter. "We were planning on going out to the pool with your mom and brother anyways, but I don't mind you going early if Ash says it's okay."

She gave Ash a pleading look. "Pleaaaaase?"

He crossed his arms and closed his eyes like he was thinking hard. "Well, I don't know…"

"I promise I'll be good!"

Ash opened one eye to consider her and the sight of May with those big, blue eyes was almost comical. She had a begging face that could rival Jasmine's and refusing would have been like kicking a puppy.

"Alright," Ash smirked as the little girl squealed in joy and threw her arms around him again. "Just make sure you stay with me until your dad meets us out there, okay?"

She nodded her head while smiling hugely. "I promise!"

Norman chuckled. "Well, I'd better go back to the room and tell Caroline about the change in plan. We will see you on the deck shortly, alright Ash?"

"Sure," he grinned back. "Just look for the Charizard and Krookodile piled up on the third deck floor. Can't miss them."

The man laughed at that. "I'm certain we'll find you without much trouble. May, you listen to Ash and stay with him until we come find you again."

"Yes, daddy," she promised, reaching up to grab the boy's shirt lightly.

Norman left then, so Ash led May and the two water Pokemon to the elevator. It was a little crowded since a bunch of people were heading to the deck, but they managed.

"Ash, are your friends Pokemon trainers?" May asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. They're both pretty strong, too."

"They aren't stronger than you, right?" She looked up at him with a curious face. "Your Pokemon are super strong!"

Ash couldn't help but crack a grin. "I don't know. I think I'm stronger than they are, but we haven't battled in a while. They train just as hard as I do, so I'm sure it's pretty close."

"Well, I think you're the best!" May declared. He smirked and nodded.

The elevator came to a stop at last and they quickly exited the crowded space. Once they got onto the main deck floor, May gasped at the massive pool and myriad of people and Pokemon.

"Whoa!" She exclaimed excitedly. "This is so cool!"

He smiled at her awed expression. "Come on, let's go meet up with everyone else. Douse, Wartortle, let me show you where everyone's at and then you can go swimming."

They walked up the spiral stairs to the third deck floor and found Gary and Leaf sitting on a pair of pool chairs while they talked. Leaf had changed and was wearing a simple two-piece green swimsuit with a green and white swim skirt over it, along with her usual white hat to keep the sun out of her eyes. Pyro and Sobek were already snoozing and Pidgeot had come down from the skies to preen her feathers. Teddiursa and Eevee were next to the enormous bird while they ate some Pokemon food.

"Hey, guys," Ash called to get their attention.

His friends looked in their direction to greet them, though Gary arched an eyebrow at the sight of May. "Who's this?"

"This is May," Ash explained. "She's a friend. Her dad works at the Pokemon Trainer School in Vermillion with Lt. Surge and it just so happens that they're going to be on the ship as well. I figured we could hang out with them."

May smiled at the two trainers widely. "Hi! Ash said you two are really great trainers! It's nice to meet you!"

Leaf smiled right back. "It's nice to meet you too, May. I'm Leaf! Oh, and this is Gary. He's a bit of an annoying guy sometimes, but he's harmless."

"Hey!" Gary exclaimed indignantly. "I happen to be a great guy!"

She rolled her eyes. "I didn't say you weren't great, you goof, I said you were annoying sometimes."

The boy leered at her for a few moments before jerking his gaze away. "Whatever. I'm still the better trainer."

"Who was top of the class in your grandfather's trainer school?"

"That was different!"

Ash smirked at their antics. "Well, since we're all here now, Gary can go get changed back at the room. Douse, Wartortle, you guys can go swimming now."

The Poliwhirl and Wartortle bounced and scrambled to get down the stairs to the pool. Ash hoped that neither of them tripped- stairs weren't generally a strong point for Pokemon that had short legs like them.

Gary got up rather lazily and stretched. "Alright, lemme get changed and I'll come back out here. Pidgeot, sit tight with Ash and Leaf. Eevee, you come with me. I'll see if I can convince Nidoqueen to come out as well."

While he headed off, Leaf looked at Ash and May. "I'm guessing neither of you have sunscreen, right?"

"I put some on back in the room," Ash replied. He glanced at May. "Did you get some?"

She shook her head, so Leaf took over. "Here, I'll help May put some sunscreen on. Ash, would you mind taking Seadra and releasing her in the pool? She needs to swim."

He nodded and took the pokeball she offered him, then made for the stairs. Ash looked over the pool as he walked down and snorted at the sight of Douse and Wartortle lying belly-up in the water. They were just as lazy as they'd been in the hot tub, though it was healthier for them to be here because they could get some sun.

Ash made it to the base deck and tapped the release on the pokeball in his hand. Seadra was set loose into the pool and blinked in confusion when she saw Ash and not Leaf. He squatted down to look at the water type with a smile. "Leaf's putting some sunscreen on, but she'll be down here really soon, okay? You can swim all you want."

Seadra's eyes flashed with delight and she immediately dove into the deeper waters, darting around to express her glee. Ash smirked after the water type as she jumped out of the pool momentarily and sailed over Douse and Wartortle, briefly startling the pair.

He sat down at the edge of the pool and tested the temperature by slipping his feet into it. The water was nice and cool. Not too cold, but not so warm as to bring no relief from the heat. He was sure they'd be spending plenty of time here. Ash leaned back on his hands and tilted his head to look skyward, squinting at the bright sun. There were still lots of flying Pokemon over the St. Anne, a fact he was sure wouldn't change much when the ship actually set sail.

"Ash!"

He looked over his shoulder as May and Leaf came down the stairs and walked towards him. The younger girl smiled brightly. "Let's go swimming!"

Ash grinned back. "Sure thing!"

"Yay!" May darted for the pool and jumped right in, sending up a small splash of water. Ash laughed as some of the water splashed onto him, but he didn't mind since he was about to get in, anyways. He was shrugging his shirt off when Leaf came up beside him and sat down.

Her voice was somewhat quieter. "So, May told me about how you two met."

He paused with his shirt only half-raised and looked at her. "And?"

Leaf was frowning at him. "I'm not mad that you jumped in to save her, but did you really have to attack the Rockets alone? You know full well how dangerous they are, Ash. Actually, you know better than almost anyone else. Why didn't you at least call for help before attacking?"

Ash averted his eyes. Thankfully, May had swum over to Douse and Wartortle and was currently floating on her back with them. "You wouldn't understand, Leaf. I had to."

"So help me to understand," her frown deepened. "I can't ignore it when my friends jump into life-threatening situations. Have you even told your mom about Team Rocket?"

His silence was enough of an answer for her to scowl. "Ash!"

"What?" He snapped back while practically tearing his shirt off. "I don't have to tell her everything!"

"You haven't told her _anything!"_ Leaf glared at him furiously. "She's your mother! She has the right to know if anything's happened to you!"

"Gary hasn't said anything to Professor Oak either, you know!"

"I already got onto him about that, but you're different. With Gary, it was just one incident. You've gone after Team Rocket twice now! At least, twice that I know of! You haven't attacked them anywhere else, have you?"

Ash hesitated, but she caught him with an even more furious glare and a deadly soft voice before he could regain himself. _"Ash Red Ketchum, what have you done?"_

He looked down at the water. "I ran into them two other times. The first was at Mt. Moon. They were kidnapping trainers and their Pokemon, so I attacked them and set everyone free. Cynthia and the police came in and saved us towards the end of the fight."

His hand unconsciously rose to the scars on his left shoulder from where Proton's Crobat had bitten him. Leaf grabbed his hand before he realized what he was doing and stared at the four small, perfectly round circles of healed skin- the only evidence that remained of his near-death encounter.

She rested her hand on his shoulder and her fingers grazed the scars ever so slightly. "What are these?"

Ash swallowed, preparing himself for her ire. "One of the Admins had a Crobat. It bit me before I even saw it."

Leaf was utterly silent for several moments. "What was the second time?"

"Lavender Town," he mumbled. "That was how I met Spectre. I had Cynthia with me that time, though."

She stared at him until he met her eyes and then spoke quietly. "I want to hear more about this, but we can talk later. These aren't the kinds of things you keep secret from your friends, Ash. I was so worried when I heard about what happened to you and Gary in Celadon, but you never talk about it. I'm your _friend_. You can tell me anything!"

He just nodded, feeling a little subdued. Leaf sighed and slipped her arms around him. "I'm not angry at you. I just worry, you know?"

He nodded again. "I know."

She pulled back and offered him a smile. "Come on. Let's go swim- BLRGH!?"

They were suddenly blasted with a huge volume of water that knocked them onto their backs. Ash and Leaf sat up with stunned expressions on their faces while May laughed from the water. Gary was in the pool already and standing behind Wartortle, who grinned unashamedly along with his trainer.

"Nice shot, Wartortle!" Gary snickered. "I'd say that woke em up!"

The turtle grinned while May and Douse laughed behind them. Even Seadra was making a goofy sucking noise that was her version of laughter.

Ash scrambled up to his feet immediately and grinned challengingly at his rival. "You jerk!"

He leapt over the pool and cannonballed in, splashing the troublemakers with a big wave. Gary held an arm up to guard himself from the splash, still smirking. Ash surfaced and tried to splash him again, but Gary darted over to him and threw an arm around his neck in a headlock. "You can't beat me, Ashy boy!"

"Think so?!" Ash growled as he grabbed at Gary's arms in an effort to pull himself free. While the boys wrestled and May continued to laugh loudly, Leaf stood up at the edge of the pool and leapt at them.

"Don't you dare forget about me!" She exclaimed before tackling both of them underwater. They made a huge splash and all came up gasping and sputtering, but then began to laugh wildly.

It was good to be together again.

* * *

Not long after they got in, Norman and his wife, Caroline, joined their group along with May's five-year old brother, Max. They set up their things at the pool chairs closer to the water than Ash and the others had, but Norman released an array of Pokemon that Ash was mostly unfamiliar with.

The only one he recognized outright was an absolutely enormous Persian, which yawned and dozed close to its master. The feline was nearly four feet tall at the shoulder and probably weighed close to a hundred pounds. Ash had no idea what Norman had been feeding the huge cat, but the jewel on its head gleamed brightly and its coat was luxurious. It was obvious that Persian was well cared for, yet its eyes betrayed a keen mind and no doubt a fierce battler.

The next Pokemon Norman released was a massive bird as big as Gary's Pidgeot. It was covered in dark brown feathers with white on its breast and forehead, had huge claws and wings, a sharp beak, and an impressive red crest. Norman called it a Staraptor. The bird took off with a quick blast of wind from its powerful wings and Pidgeot flew after the bird with a loud shriek. The pair settled some hundred feet above the deck and soared over the St. Anne for a while.

Both of Norman's other Pokemon appeared to be from the same evolutionary line. One was a large, ape-like creature with long arms and two short legs. It was covered in white fur and had enormous claws, as well as a tuft of red fur between its eyes. The creature seemed unable to stand still, as it was constantly twitching and looking around with a hyperactive attitude.

The other was a true giant, though. Just like the first, it's appearance was that of an ape, but the hulking creature was nearly triple the size of the white one for its sheer bulk. It had brown fur all over its body along with a white mane around its neck and its limbs were each thicker around than Ash's whole body. The hands were human-like and from its lower jaw, two large fangs protruded out of its mouth. Contrary to the white Pokemon, however, this one was incredibly lazy. It was already lying down when Norman released it and yawned widely, exposing massive canines for all to see.

"What are they?" Ash asked from the edge of the pool. The pair fascinated him- especially the big one. He'd only seen a few Pokemon as large as the behemoth lying on the deck beside Norman. It reminded him of a Snorlax.

"This is Vigoroth," Norman gestured to the white Pokemon still shifting around in its jittery way. It looked like it'd had way too much coffee. "And this is Slaking. He was my starter Pokemon, though he was a Slakoth back then. They're both normal types, which if you haven't guessed already, is a specialty of mine."

"How do they fight?"

Norman smiled. "Vigoroth tends to go into a frenzy with her claws. She's rather unrefined, but it's hard to stop her once she gets really riled up. Slaking is the opposite. He has a tremendous amount of strength, but his body requires a lot of rest for him to use it. Most of the time, he just tanks an opponent's attacks and guns for one big hit- because that's usually all it takes to knock an enemy out. Slaking are terribly powerful. I doubt even your Charizard or Krookodile would be able to take a single blow from him."

"Really?" Ash gazed at the massive normal type, who made a lazy grunt and scratched at its chest idly. It was hard to believe that Slaking was so powerful considering how lazy he was, but Ash couldn't ignore the hard and massive muscles that made up Slaking's body. He might have been lazy, but Slaking had earned the right to be.

He wanted to fight that behemoth.

"I'm betting Charizard could take it," he challenged.

Norman quirked an eyebrow and smiled slightly. "Oh? Do you now?"

"Hey, Ash!"

They were interrupted by the little boy sitting next to Caroline while she sprayed sunscreen on his back. Max, who was May's younger brother, had been really eager to go swimming as soon as he saw their Pokemon in the water. Caroline had managed to snatch the boy before he could dive in without sunscreen (as well as almost lose his glasses), but it seemed there would be no stopping him.

"How many Pokemon do you have?" Max asked.

"I've got seven," Ash replied. "One of them isn't here, though."

"What are they?"

The young trainer grinned proudly. "Charizard, Pikachu, Krookodile, Eevee, Poliwhirl, Duskull, and Dratini."

"Whoa, a Charizard?! Really?! I wanna see! Oh, but what's a Krookodile? Is that Poliwhirl in the pool yours? And Duskull are ghost types! Wait, but aren't Eevee and Dratini super rare? Where'd you get them?"

The stream of questions was a little overwhelming and Ash climbed out of the pool in an attempt to placate the chatterbox of a child. "How about we go see Charizard and Krookodile? They're sunbathing up there."

"Yes!" Max exclaimed. He spun around to stare at his mother with big eyes. "Mom, please can I go see them?"

"I don't see why not," she smiled at her son. "But make sure you listen to Ash. Don't bother his Pokemon if they're trying to sleep, okay?"

"I won't," he promised. The boy leapt out of the chair and quickly went over to Ash. "Come on!"

"Hold up a moment," Ash glanced back at the pool. "Hey, May! Do you want to come see Charizard and Krookodile?"

The girl was currently swimming with Leaf, Teddiursa, and Seadra, but she immediately perked up at Ash's question. "Yes, please!"

She swam over and got out of the water, then ran over to them with a large smile. Ash led the way up the stairs, taking it slow so that they could keep up, but also so that Max wouldn't hurry in his excitement and get hurt. Once they got to the top, they walked over to where the pair of reptiles were sleeping peacefully, still piled up on top of each other.

"They're huge!" Max exclaimed.

"That one's Charizard, right?" May asked hesitantly as she pointed at the large, orange-scaled dragon. "It's hard remembering all of the Pokemon names."

"That's right," Ash confirmed with an encouraging smile. "Just practice and you'll get them right. There are still a lot of Pokemon I don't know about. I've never seen a Slaking or a Vigoroth until today, you know."

Max stared at the heap of red and black scales lumped over Pyro's back. "This is Krookodile? What kind of Pokemon is it? Is it a dragon type?"

Ash shook his head. "No, he's a ground and dark type. I've been thinking about teaching him some dragon type moves, though. Dragon Claw, for one. These two are the strongest Pokemon I have."

"They're super powerful!" May agreed. "They took out that big metal snake thingy!"

"Steelix," Ash corrected, though he was amused by her description of the "big metal snake thingy" that had nearly crushed them. "And yeah, they're both incredible. Pyro was my starter Pokemon and I got Sobek not long after that."

"Pyro? Sobek?" Max looked confused.

"Those are their names," the trainer informed him. "Pyro is the Charizard and Sobek is the Krookodile. When you get a Pokemon, you can ask if they want to have a name of their own. Some of my Pokemon like Eevee didn't want one, but most of them do."

"I didn't know that," Max said a little hesitantly.

The siblings were startled as Pyro suddenly snorted loudly, lifting his head up off the ground to yawn. Doing so exposed the massive fangs and Ash's bandaged hand twinged slightly as he recalled what those fangs were capable of. By no means was he afraid of his first friend, but he would never stick his hand into Pyro's mouth again without good reason.

The Charizard looked over at them with drooping eyes and rumbled at the sight of his trainer. Ash smiled at the fire type. "Hey, buddy. You're good where you are, I was just showing you off to May and Max."

Pyro turned his eyes to the pair of children, who looked a little nervous under the dragon's gaze. But Pyro wasn't aggressive to them and he made a passive growl to ease their nerves. Sobek snarled a little on top of him for shifting around and the Charizard glanced at his teammate with a slightly irritated expression. If he was being shown off, then he wanted to be included in the process.

Sobek was not happy when Pyro chose to get up, although he only snapped his jaws together loudly before slumping onto the deck and trying to go back to sleep. Ash snorted at the sight. Sobek had been exhausted over the last couple of days, and he assumed it was from the four doses of Moxie he'd gotten coupled with his recent evolution a couple of days ago that had made him so sleepy. He let the massive croc rest- Sobek had more than earned it.

Pyro shook his large body, stretching his wings with another wide yawn while he flexed all of his claws. The pair of watching siblings stared at the dragon in awe. Pyro certainly wasn't the biggest Charizard there was, but he was huge compared to May and Max and held an air of power and confidence. Once he was sufficiently awake, Pyro gazed down at the children properly and recognized May.

The girl got a little nervous as Pyro brought his head down to her level, but the dragon just nosed her hair and rumbled lowly to calm her. May looked at Ash, still nervous, and he encouraged her with a smile. "It's okay. Here, I'll help you pet him. He likes having his scales scratched."

Ash moved over to them and took May's hand, then lifted it up to a spot just behind Pyro's horns. He showed her how to scratch the scales there in a way that made the dragon growl happily, causing him to swish his tail. May started to giggle when Pyro leaned into her touch and she broke into full-blown laughter when he pushed his whole head into her chest. It was funny because Pyro's skull was almost too big for her to wrap her arms around, so she was practically hugging his head. But she managed to reach behind both of his horns in the goofy position and scratch his favorite spots.

"He's so warm!" May exclaimed with her blue eyes wide with delight.

"No fair! Me too!" Max protested.

Ash laughed. "Okay, okay. Come here, he likes having his wings scratched as well…"

Before too long, Pyro was living the dream- May was scratching his favorite spots behind his horns and Ash was teaching Max how to massage the joints of his wings that were sore after all of his flight training. The Charizard lowered his body to the deck again after just a few minutes and the children continued to pet him- his skull was now preoccupying May's entire lap and Max was seated on his back with Ash's guidance, still rubbing the joints in a way that felt fantastic even if it was obviously amateur.

The attention didn't go unnoticed. Sobek, although a little cranky, wanted some as well.

He made a light hiss to get Ash's attention and glanced from Pyro to his trainer in an effort to get the message across. Ash smiled at the ground type. "It's okay, buddy. I've got you."

After assuring himself that Max was firmly seated on Pyro's back, Ash sat down next to Sobek and guided the Krookodile's massive head into his lap. Once Sobek was settled again, he began to massage the corners of his jaws, causing Sobek to vibrate his throat while he was lulled back into sleep.

Ash glanced between his two most powerful Pokemon and smiled at their obvious enjoyment of the situation. Despite being his greatest powerhouses and boasting high aggression, Pyro and Sobek were just as fond of treatment like this as the rest of his team was.

It was a heartwarming sight.

* * *

They ended up playing on the deck for hours, enjoying the warmth and the sunshine and the water as much as they could. By mid afternoon, they were getting tired and called it a day when the captain of the ship announced that they would be departing.

The group hurried to the starboard side of the vessel to watch the ship leave port. The St. Anne slowly separated itself from the docks and made a wide turn in Vermillion Bay towards the open sea. Once it was pointed in the right direction, the vessel began to move at a slow pace which grew faster once they were clear of the bay.

The moment the St. Anne was able to go at full speed, there was another announcement. "This is Captain Briney speaking. The St. Anne has now left Vermillion Bay and will be making for Cinnabar Island immediately. The voyage should take us about five days. The forecast looks good for the entirety of the voyage and we'll be sure to reach our destination in a timely manner. To our passengers, I ask only that you enjoy yourselves to the fullest of what we can offer. Welcome aboard the St. Anne!"

Loud cheers and whistles rose in a clamor on the ship, then music started to play from the speakers again and everyone went about their business.

"Whew, we really did go at it all day!" Gary said cheerily while stretching his arms over his head. Wartortle mimicked him and Pidgeot looked like she was sleeping on her feet already.

Ash was nudged on the shoulder by Sobek and turned to find the Krookodile scratching at his belly urgently. Pyro was sniffing the air for anything that could be edible. The boy grinned at his friends. "Yeah, I think we could all use some dinner."

"I'm really hungry, too…" Max set his hands on his stomach as it growled.

Norman glanced at his watch. "Dinner starts at seven. It's about five-thirty now…Let's head back to our cabin and get cleaned up. I think we could all use a break before dinner."

"Sounds good to me," Leaf sighed, taking her hat off for a moment to wipe some of the sweat off of her forehead. "I really need a shower."

"Me too," May groaned tiredly. She was flopped onto Douse's round body, which was lying belly-up on the deck while the Poliwhirl took a minute to breathe. He and the other water Pokemon had been swimming and playing nonstop for hours and they were all feeling pretty tired as a result.

Caroline smiled. "Let's get you two back to the cabin, alright sweetie?"

She leaned down to pick up May and lifted the little girl into her arms. Norman picked up Max and the family said their goodbyes to the trio of young trainers while Ash, Gary, and Leaf faced each other.

"I guess we'll meet up in the dining hall?" Leaf asked. "I mean, you two are staying with each other, so…"

Ash nodded. "That sounds good. I've got to give Eevee and Jasmine a bath, anyways."

"I'll get cleaned up quick and come find ya," Gary said. "Where's your room at?"

Leaf smiled at him brightly. "First Class-047. I'll see you in a little while, then!"

She took off with Teddiursa on her heels, leaving Ash and Gary to walk back to their room. Ash recalled his Pokemon for the time being and Gary did the same. They'd already figured out where the room was without needing directions at this point, so getting there was pretty easy.

Once they reached the room, Ash set Pyro, Sobek, and Douse loose again and told them to rest until dinner came around. Gary released Pidgeot and Wartortle, then looked at Ash. "I'll take a shower first. It sounds like you've gotta give some of your Pokemon a bath, right?"

When Ash nodded, his rival made for his bag to grab a spare set of clothes. "Well, I'll be quick. Leaf'll probably take a little while to get ready, anyways, so I'll stay here for a bit afterwards and figure out what my team wants to do."

"Sounds good," Ash replied as he took his shirt and tossed it to the side of the bed that he claimed as his own. He flopped onto the sheets with a low groan, feeling exhaustion take over his limbs. Eevee was giving him an annoyed look because he smelled bad (seriously, they were going to _sleep_ there), but Jasmine cooed and slithered over to her trainer. She used her head to gently push Ash over onto his back and then planted herself on his chest, staring at his face with her big, green eyes.

Ash smiled at her and lifted a hand to scratch behind the small dragon's ears. "Hey there, Jasmine. Did you have fun today with Eevee?"

She trilled an affirmative whilst leaning into his touch, her tail tip twitching in delight. Ash set one arm behind his head while he scratched her scales, but it was only a couple of minutes before an object- his hat, he realized- was placed on top of his head to block his vision. A small, barely noticeable weight settled on the hat then, making him smile more.

"What are you up to, Spectre?" Ash asked, knowing that the ghost was certainly the one sitting on his head.

Sure enough, there was a hollow chuckle and Ash removed the hat covering his face to find the little ghost had shifted over to sit on Jasmine's head. He snorted at the sight and placed his hat back on Spectre before poking his mask, which caused Spectre to make a cheerful sound.

He glanced over to where the enormous cushions were and started with a little surprise- Pyro and Sobek were snoring next to Nidoqueen. Ash hadn't thought they'd get along that well so quickly, but it seemed that the relaxing atmosphere was making even his most aggressive Pokemon open up a little.

The bathroom door opened then and Gary came out wearing some casual clothes with his usually spiky hair dampened down. Ash arched an eyebrow. "I know you said you'd be quick, but that was like…a minute."

Gary shrugged. "I got stuff to do. I'll take a longer shower later when I feel like it. Go get your munchkins all cleaned up."

Ash shrugged back and glanced at Eevee and Jasmine then. "Alright, are you two ready?"

They both sat bolt upright with faces filled with anticipation and he hadn't even gotten out of the bed when Eevee leapt into his arms. Ash caught her with a laugh and as he got up, Jasmine slithered down to his feet and trilled excitedly. "Come on, girls. I'll get you both cleaned up."

* * *

Ash ended up bathing Eevee and Jasmine for nearly half an hour. Eevee again insisted that he clean himself first so that he wouldn't get any of the sweat and grime on his body into her fur. Once that was taken care of, he grabbed the shampoo for Pokemon and started to work it through Eevee's coat, sending the little normal type into a state of bliss. Ash massaged her with the cleansing liquid until she looked like a walking bubble bath and then rinsed her off with warm water. He set a towel on the floor then and placed the dozing Eevee on it so that he could get started on Jasmine.

He wasn't really sure how to go about this. Jasmine didn't have fur like Eevee and he had no idea if the shampoo would irritate her scales. He decided not to risk going with the shampoo and instead drained the tub of all the soapy water from Eevee's bath. Once that was done, he filled it back up with warm water and let Jasmine get in- although she tried to dive in headfirst and probably would have gotten a nasty bruise on her head if Ash hadn't hurriedly stopped her.

Jasmine settled into the warm water with a happy trill and Ash could only smile. He got a small towel and soaked it in the warm water, then began to scrub it over Jasmine's scales. This again resulted in some very content sounds from the Dratini as he cleaned her scaly body. The tub was a bit cramped, (Jasmine was nearly six feet long, after all) but she fixed that problem by hanging the end of her tail over the edge of the tub.

Once her back was sufficiently cleaned, Jasmine rolled in the water so that she was belly up, but she squealed when Ash started to scrub her belly. He startled at first, then smirked with a surprising realization- Jasmine was ticklish.

With that new knowledge, Ash started to tickle the little dragon's tummy until she was squirming to get away. Of course, he was cleaning her scales at the same time, so it made trying to get every inch of her rather challenging. He persevered and continued to scrub the Dratini while she squealed and attempted to escape, although she was in such hysterics that she couldn't really move all that well.

Somehow, Eevee dozed through the whole event.

When Ash was finished, Jasmine was lying belly up while she gasped for breath and he wondered for a moment if she had fainted. He felt kind of bad for putting her through the hilarious torture and helped lift her out of the bath and onto a dry towel on the ground. She was totally limp and he was grateful that she actually didn't weigh all that much, because most Pokemon that were six feet long would have been way too heavy for him to even budge.

Ash toweled off Eevee first while Jasmine recovered and carried her back into the room, still bundled in a towel, to place her on the bed. He then went back and toweled off Jasmine. There was no way he could carry her the same way he carried Eevee- she was just too big despite being lightweight- but he found a solution by basically draping her head over his shoulder and wrapping the rest of her serpentine body around him. It was awkward and probably looked absurd, but he got her back to the bed and placed her beside Eevee, who he was pretty sure had passed out.

He wiped off some of the perspiration that had built up on his forehead and smiled at the pair of sleepy Pokemon. They were definitely a little spoiled. Ash glanced at the rest of his team, who had awoken when he returned from the bathroom with their recently-cleaned female companions. "So, anyone else need a bath?"

Unsurprisingly, Pyro immediately shook his head. His version of a bath was actually rather destructive- to keep his scales clean, he quite literally bathed himself in his own flames, breathing Flamethrower until the dirt and any dead scales were incinerated. Frankly, Ash had only ever seen him do that a few times, but it wasn't safe to be near Pyro when he decided he needed to be cleaned up.

After all, he left a huge circle of blackened earth in his wake.

Spectre passed on the offer (though his red eye glinted with suspicious glee) and Douse simply waved his hand to tell Ash that he was fine. He'd been swimming all day and felt plenty clean the way he was. Ash was pretty sure he just didn't want to move- Douse and Wartortle were settled in the hot tub again.

Surprisingly, Sobek seemed to be considering it. The Krookodile kept himself groomed pretty well and he didn't exactly like water, but maybe if the water was warm enough…

Ash offered his friend a smile. "Do you want to try it out, Sobek?"

Sobek thought about it for a few more moments before nodding slowly. Ash tilted his head towards the bathroom and the Krookodile followed, albeit a little hesitantly. There was steam coming out of the shower and frankly, it looked like a sauna. But Ash encouraged him and Sobek trusted his trainer.

Ash considered how they could go about this. Sobek was probably too big to fit into the bath and he kind of doubted that he'd want to soak in hot water. Instead, he had the Krookodile sit down on a towel by the tub and, after filling it with warm water, dipped the same, small towel he'd scrubbed Jasmine with into the liquid and began to clean Sobek with it.

Initially, the Krookodile stiffened upon feeling the water touch him, but he relaxed after the first few seconds. It was warm and didn't shock his body- he was cold blooded, after all. If Ash had tried to clean him with cold water, his body would not have taken that particularly well. The best evidence of that was in his training sessions with Douse. Whenever he got blasted by a Hydro Pump, he was left shivering and miserable while his body tried to process the shock of cold that had slammed into him.

Fortunately, warm water was a lot more tolerable and it actually felt pretty good. Sobek let out a rumbling growl of enjoyment as Ash scrubbed the scales on his shoulders and the back of his neck, working through any stiffness that built up as a result of training. Ash found that there were a lot of sore spots at the base of Sobek's head and neck because the Krookodile's muscles were incredibly tight.

He frowned at that. "Sobek, has your neck been bothering you?"

The Krookodile thought about it and growled an affirmative. Ash continued to scrub him, but considered the soreness of his friend as he did so. It was possible that his recent evolution made it hard for his muscles to hold up his weight. Sobek's head was enormous- it always had been. But the difference in size between his time as a Krokorok and now as a Krookodile was drastic. His skull had put on nearly another foot in length and probably another fifty pounds worth of weight for sheer muscle.

Ash paused in his cleaning as he looked at Sobek's considerably large head. Maybe his muscles really weren't used to the new weight of his skull and it was putting pressure on his neck. Sobek had been slightly more irritable lately, but he'd put it up to the surge of hormones following evolution. Maybe there was a more physical reason for his short temper. Had his neck hurt like this when he first evolved from Sandile?

"Sobek, if your neck hurts like that again, let me know," Ash told him. "I don't want you to damage anything by accident, okay?"

Sobek nodded again and winced slightly at the motion. Ash's frown deepened at his friend's obvious pain and continued to scrub the Krookodile's scales, which put him back at ease.

After a fairly long bath (Sobek was quite large, after all) Ash was satisfied that the ground type had been sufficiently cleaned and dried him off with one of the few dry towels that remained. Sobek shook himself after Ash removed the towel and hissed gratefully to his trainer.

He smiled and patted the Krookodile's shoulder. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Sobek shook his head with evidently less pain this time and Ash opened the bathroom door. "Alright bud, go rest up a bit before dinner comes around. We'll be leaving pretty soon."

Sobek only grunted and returned to the enormous cushion beside Pyro and Nidoqueen. Ash walked over to where his PokeNav was placed on the desk and made a note to ask Professor Oak about the stress that had built up in Sobek's neck.

He would rather be safe than sorry.

* * *

Dinner was incredible and for Ash, completely alien. Oh, his mother was a phenomenal cook, but the lavishness of the massive dining hall coupled with the rather formal attire worn by most of the guests and crew made him feel out of place. He was wearing his cleanest jeans and a plain black t-shirt, a far cry from the suits and dresses he saw around him.

Fortunately, he wasn't alone. It wasn't like all of the people were in formal attire, just a fair few of them. His little group, which consisted of himself, Gary, Leaf and Norman's family, all wore fairly casual clothing and took a large table for themselves. Ash found out that they could order meals for their Pokemon as well, but they had to behave themselves.

His team was starving and he thought they had decent manners. Ash decided to go for it.

A lot of people were actually eating with their Pokemon, including his friends. Leaf of course refrained from releasing Bomber or Seadra (Onix, she said, was currently at Professor Oak's lab), but she set loose Teddiursa, Rose, and Talon to eat with them, as well as Saur. Ash took one look at the Ivysaur and wondered how he hadn't evolved already- Saur was massive and the flower on his back was starting to bloom. By all rights, he was practically half-Venusaur.

The same went for Leaf's Ponyta. Ash wasn't particularly knowledgeable about Ponyta as a species, but Rose was an impressive specimen and her flaming mane looked considerably larger since the last time he'd seen her. He didn't have the foggiest idea if Bomber was close to evolving and Teddiursa was obviously way too young. Seadra simply required a Dragon Scale in order to evolve and he was pretty sure Leaf didn't have one of those.

It would be just _fun_ if she somehow set a Kingdra loose on them in the tournament.

Gary's Pokemon were much the same. Wartortle was practically on the brink of evolution and the rest of his team wasn't far behind, if they hadn't fully evolved already like Nidoqueen or Pidgeot. Ash didn't know how Kadabra would evolve (he vaguely remembered reading something about them requiring a special energy stimulus to evolve) and as for Eevee, Ash assumed Gary was in the same boat as him- trying to figure out what evolution best suited his partner. Machop looked pretty close to evolving as well, but again, Ash didn't know much about their species.

It made him wonder how many more of Gary's Pokemon had evolved or were reaching that point. He had a huge team with a variety of Pokemon to choose from, and those were only the ones he knew about. Ash wouldn't have been surprised if his rival had captured more since they had last seen one another.

He glanced at his own team, trying to gauge their progress and strength against those of his rivals. Pyro and Sobek obviously had reached their final stage and couldn't evolve any further, but they would certainly get a lot stronger. Eevee still hadn't made up her mind about evolving, although Ash knew she was interested in it- her curiosity about Cynthia's Glaceon and her brief interest in the Water Stone attested to that. He was sure she would get around to it in her own time and he would work with her regardless of what she wanted.

Douse was going to evolve soon. He'd just about mastered Hydro Pump and Ash had promised, after all. He wanted to see the Poliwhirl give it a few more tries, then he would grant Douse's wish by giving him the Water Stone. That would make him evolve into a Poliwrath and greatly increase his strength. In fact, he would probably be matching Pyro and Sobek's own power with his natural type advantage, and who knew what else he could do once he gained the fighting type attributes that Poliwrath were known for.

Spectre…was an enigma for Ash. Despite reading a fair amount on Duskull and their evolutions in the Pokedex, only one thing about their growth was clear: they grew slowly and there was usually no warning signs before they evolved. Ash was pretty sure Spectre wasn't close to evolving, but he could have been wrong. There was just no way for him to tell. But regardless, after he evolved into Dusclops, it would take a long time before he could evolve into Dusknoir. For that to happen, he'd need Spectre to go to a place swollen with spiritual energy like Pokemon Tour, or get his hands on an artificial item called a Reaper's Cloth to trigger the evolution into Dusknoir. Ash didn't have the foggiest idea where he could get a Reaper's Cloth, but he did know that they were _absurdly_ expensive and rare.

Jasmine, of course, was going to take a lot longer than any of the other team members. She hadn't shown any signs of getting near the point of evolution- for one, she hadn't shed her skin at all in the month and a half that he'd travelled with her. Professor Oak had said she would shed once every three months or so, and those sheds would get more frequent the closer she got to evolving. If that was right, then Jasmine still had another month or so before she would shed again.

But that wouldn't be for a while yet. For now, he guessed that his rivals and himself were all pretty close in terms of power. They obviously hadn't been slacking off.

They were ate while chatting over dinner for nearly an hour when the clear sound of a glass being tapped upon broke up the conversation. Everyone in the dining hall looked over to the main podium in the center of the room, where an older man in a blue suit with a navy hat stood with other members of the crew behind him.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you're all enjoying yourselves this evening. I'm the Captain of the St. Anne, Joshua Briney. It's a pleasure to see all of you here tonight. Is everyone enjoying their meal?"

A chorus of agreement responded to him, prompting the Captain to chuckle. "Good! Good! Now, I understand that many of you are likely curious about the main source of entertainment for this voyage- the Pokemon Tournament, yes?"

Everyone immediately focused on him. Briney smiled at the eager expressions as he glanced around the room and continued his speech. "The tournament itself will begin tomorrow at twelve noon. Anyone who is interested in participating, please report to the battlefield in the back of the ship by ten A.M tomorrow morning. The tournament will run for three of our five travel days- starting tomorrow with preliminaries to leave us with eight trainers. The day after that will consist of quarter finals and semi-finals, and our fourth traveling day will host the finals."

The Captain paused so that everyone could absorb that information. "In regards to the prizes, only the top four competitors will win something. Fourth place will win five Great Balls. Third place will also win five Great Balls in addition to a TM Voucher that can only be redeemed here in our Technical Machine Market aboard the St. Anne. One TM Voucher will let you select any one TM for free. Also, keep in mind that third and fourth place will be decided by a battle between the two competitors who are defeated in the semi-finals."

"Second place will win five Ultra Balls and two TM Vouchers, and first place will get three of the TM Vouchers in addition to a rare Pokemon."

That caught the entire dining hall's attention with several gasps and excited murmurs echoing around the room. Ash himself raised an eyebrow at the news. A rare Pokemon? The chance of getting free TMs was not one to be missed, but that plus a rare Pokemon for his team was priceless. He glanced at Leaf and Gary, who both looked anxious and excited for the battles ahead.

Ash silently apologized to them. They were great friends, but he was going to win this. He would not hold back.

"I'm sure you're all wondering what kind of Pokemon it is, but I'll be keeping its identity a secret until the end of the tournament," Briney announced. "A friend of mine granted me the Pokemon during our last stop in Unova a few weeks ago. I'm not that familiar with its species, but he assured me that once it reaches its prime, it will be quite a powerful creature."

He was sold with that particular statement. Ash didn't know much about the Pokemon from Unova (Aside from the Sandile line, of course), but he knew it was Sobek's home region- anything that could potentially match the Krookodile for strength was something he wanted on his team.

"Well then, I'll let you all return to your meals," the Captain bowed to the watching people. "Please enjoy your stay aboard the St. Anne."

Cheers and the clapping of hands followed his speech, then Briney turned and left- probably to go back to the wheelhouse. Ash was sure the Captain got a break now and again, but he was in charge of the enormous vessel, after all. He likely spent almost all of his time up there.

His attention was drawn back to the table. Gary was cracking his knuckles with a wide smirk upon his face. "Oh, I'm gonna win this! Sorry you guys, but I'm steamrolling you down!"

"Good luck," Leaf scoffed, but she was also grinning competitively. "I'll stop you in your tracks. That Pokemon is mine."

Ash merely smiled a little. He wanted to visit one of the training rooms before the tournament started tomorrow. Douse only needed one more test to assure Ash that he'd mastered Hydro Pump- then he could give the other trainers in the tournament a thoroughly nasty surprise. And maybe he needed to drop by the Technical Machine Market on the ship as well. Just because they were giving out vouchers for free TMs as prizes didn't mean he couldn't go grab a new move or two for his team to give them an edge.

He was jerked out of his thoughts by someone tugging on the sleeve of his shirt- May, he realized. The little girl was looking up at him anxiously. "Ash, are you going to enter the tournament?"

Ash nodded. "You bet I am! And I'm going to win."

She smiled back brightly. "You can do it! I'm gonna cheer for you!"

"Thanks, May," he chuckled. Ash glanced from the girl to the members of his team still eating close to the table. Pyro, Sobek, Eevee, Douse, Spectre, and Jasmine. His loyal and powerful family.

They would do him proud, he was sure.

* * *

"She's so _cute!"_

May almost squealed as she brushed a very sleepy Eevee's fur. They were in Ash and Gary's room along with Leaf and Max, (Norman and Caroline had decided to stay at dinner and eat for a little longer) just hanging out while the Pokemon settled after their enormous meal. To no one's surprise, Douse and Wartortle were lounging in the hot tub again, though this time they were accompanied by Leaf's Seadra, who was snacking on some water Pokemon food out of her trainer's hand.

Leaf was seated by the edge of the hot tub while she fed Seadra and Teddiursa dozed in her arms. Gary was next to her, browsing through his Pokedex casually while he pet his own Eevee, who was resting contentedly beside him. Max, meanwhile, couldn't tear his eyes from the enormous sleeping forms of Pyro, Sobek, and Nidoqueen, although he alternated between them and Saur. There was no way the Ivysaur wasn't on the cusp of evolution and Max seemed nervous about the potential of missing such an event.

Ash, however, had his dumbfounded gaze locked upon Eevee while she napped in May's lap. He'd given the little girl a brush to show her how to groom the normal type, but he thought that Eevee would have rejected her after a minute or so. She wasn't all that tolerant of any human touching her with the exception of Ash. Yet there she was- ten minutes later and looking content as could be.

She was practically _purring_.

Ash had no idea what to make of the situation, but May was totally engrossed in brushing Eevee's fur as gently and as thoroughly as she could. The little normal type hadn't even complained when May brought her into her lap to make brushing her easier. Not that he was unhappy about the event- on the contrary, he was delighted about how much Eevee was opening up. It was just very unexpected.

Jasmine trilled curiously beside him while they watched the pair, who were sitting in the middle of the bed. Ash lifted his hand up to scratch the dragon behind her ears and nodded. "That's a new one, girl."

May hummed a soft little song while she continued doting on Eevee, who was curled up into a little fluffy ball while the girl brushed her. It was actually quite cute and Ash had no desire to interrupt their session. Maybe this would open the door for Eevee to start bonding with more people than just him. He hoped that becoming close to May might allow her social skills to develop a little bit more.

Since everyone seemed to be settling down, Ash stood up and stretched. He had some things to get done before they all turned in for the night. Norman and Caroline had told him they would come pick up May and Max after an hour or so, but there was still a little time before they got back. Not to mention, Leaf and Gary were here to watch them while he went off to do some last-minute work before the tournament.

They had gone straight to the sign up point after leaving dinner and entered the tournament. None of them wanted to risk missing out on the chance.

In the meantime, he needed to do some work with Douse, Spectre, and Jasmine. Pyro and Sobek were as good as he needed them to be for the tournament and there was no way Ash was going to interrupt Eevee's time with May. Douse needed one last assessment before he evolved and Ash wanted to try and expand Spectre and Jasmine's move pools.

"Guys, I'm going to get some stuff done before I turn in, alright?" He announced.

Gary looked up and nodded. "Okay. We'll just be here."

"Can I come?" May asked, looking up from Eevee for the first time in a while.

Ash smiled at her. "I've got some special training to do, May. How about you stay here with Eevee? She really likes you."

Eevee yawned then, displaying more cuteness than May could handle. The little girl almost squealed again, then she settled down and continued to brush Eevee's fur, sending the small Pokemon back into a comfortable limbo between sleep and consciousness.

Ash grabbed his backpack and pulled out a few of his pokeballs. "Douse, Jasmine, Spectre, you three are coming with me. We've got stuff to do."

Jasmine was already at his side with an eager trill while Douse followed a little more slowly out of the hot tub. Spectre floated out of the closet, causing Max to gasp in surprise- no one had told him that the ghost was in there. Eevee's ears twitched at the loud noise, but May shushed her brother with a quick glare and returned to doting on her charge.

The Duskull made a hollow sound of greeting upon reaching Ash, still wearing the boy's hat. Ash smiled and poked his skull mask. "Come on, buddy. We've got work to do before the tournament tomorrow."

With that, he recalled the three Pokemon he needed and left the room to make his first stop- the TM Market.

* * *

He was grateful that many of the vendors were open even at such a late hour. It was almost nine-thirty, but the Technical Machine Market was still open, though he had only thirty more minutes before it would close for the night.

Ash was impressed by the vast selection of moves. It was absolutely loaded with TMs from the floor to the ceiling along the entire wall, reminding him of the Celadon Department store. He took a few minutes to retrieve his Pokedex and scan through the list of moves that the three Pokemon on his belt could learn.

He actually already knew which move he'd be teaching Douse- Brick Break. Ash had the permanent copy of the TM, so he didn't have to purchase a new one, but he intended to have Douse evolve and then teach him the fighting type move. That would help him make use of the new typing he'd be gaining upon evolution. Of course, he already had Wake-Up Slap, but it didn't have the same pulverizing effect that Brick Break did.

With Jasmine, he was torn. He had the permanent copy of Iron Tail, so he could give her that. Her tail was a powerful weapon with which she used some of her strongest attacks, like Dragon Tail and Aqua Tail. Iron Tail would only make her tail more powerful and he'd thought about some pretty neat combinations he could use with that, but then she could become quite predictable. On the flip side, she only had a couple of long range moves- Flamethrower and Dragon Rage, so he could look into something similar to that. The only problem was that ranged moves took practice to get the aim down correctly. It would take more work to master one of those moves than it would to give her something she was already mostly familiar with, like Iron Tail.

In the end, he decided to just go with Iron Tail for the time being. When he won the tournament (when, not if, he told himself) then he'd have three TM Vouchers to get her and the rest of his team more techniques for free. There was no need to spend more money than was necessary.

He _was_ on a budget, after all.

Spectre couldn't learn either Iron Tail or Brick Break and he desperately needed a wider range of attacking moves, so Ash looked hard and long for something to give him an edge. It was tricky because Spectre was a defensive fighter. He needed something that would keep the opponent at a distance whilst allowing the Duskull to wear his foes down. There weren't a lot of moves capable of fulfilling such a strategy.

Ash decided to take a risk and bought the permanent TM for Psychic. He'd never taught any Pokemon a psychic type move before and really hoped it wouldn't be as difficult to learn as Pyro's dragon type moves were. If it turned out that Spectre couldn't wield psychic energy efficiently, then this wasn't going to help him at all in the tournament. But Psychic was nonetheless a useful and powerful move, which he hoped the Duskull would master given time and effort.

He winced at the amount of cash he dished out for the move, but hopefully it would be worth it. Psychic was a particularly expensive TM, especially since he had to pay an extra $1000 to make its use permanent. At least he hadn't burned through as much as he had back in Celadon.

Once he'd bought that move, Ash went to the second floor from the top of the St. Anne to go to the private training area. It was open 24/7 and allowed trainers to reserve a small room to train their Pokemon while on the ship. Although there were limitations- one could not train in the use of Earthquake, for example- none of them applied to the moves that Ash had in mind for training this evening.

He reserved one of the rooms for $500, which was a steep price, but worth it if he could give the other trainers in the tournament a big surprise. Ash took the card key he received from the manager of the training rooms and inserted it into the reader on the door lock, granting him access. The door unlocked and he let himself in, squinting as the lights automatically turned on, then closed the door behind him. In addition to the lights automatically coming on, the windows tinted, keeping any unwanted observers from seeing what he was up to.

Ash took out the TM Case and inserted the new Psychic TM first. Once that was done, he pulled out the three pokeballs he'd brought along with him and one by one, placed them into the case to give them their new moves. Spectre got Psychic and Jasmine received Iron Tail, just as planned, but Ash refrained from giving Douse Brick Break- he wanted the Poliwhirl to evolve before teaching him the fighting type move.

With his initial preparations complete, Ash released the three Pokemon at his belt. The trio offered him their greetings and then waited for his commands.

"Right, we've got some work to do," Ash announced. The trio paid rapt attention as he went on. "Spectre, Jasmine, we're going to try and learn some new moves tonight. They don't have to be perfect, but I'd like you to have a good grasp on them before the tournament tomorrow."

Jasmine trilled her understanding and looked at her tail curiously. Spectre's single red orb flickered with blue for just an instant as he tested the psychic powers Ash had gifted to him.

Ash turned to Douse and looked at him seriously. "First thing's first. Douse, I want to see Hydro Pump. If you've got it down beyond a shadow of doubt, then you can evolve tonight."

Douse's eyes gleamed and he made an eager grunt. He cracked his knuckles as Ash went over to a small, digital screen on the wall. The boy pressed the START command and then selected three targets for Douse to attack. He was glad the manager of the training rooms had explained it to him, although it was fairly simple to understand.

In the back of the room, three targets rose from slots in the floor. The dummies had the general shape of a Rhydon, although they were considerably smaller- perhaps the size of an average man. That being said, they were mostly solid rock and looked like they could take a beating. They weren't the boulders that Ash and his team were so fond of destroying, but they would serve their purpose. Douse took his place front and center while Ash motioned for Jasmine and Spectre to join him. The pair did as instructed, and then it began.

"Don't hold back, Douse," Ash ordered. The Poliwhirl gave a grunt of understanding and his trainer's lips curled up in a fierce grin. "Hydro Pump!"

Douse reared back, paused for just a second, then blasted the target in the center with a focused, pressurized blast of water. To Ash's delight, the target was blown into smithereens, sending chunks of rock flying all over the place. Douse didn't hesitate a second to leap into the air and with a quick turn, blasted the second target on the left, then obliterated the third just before he touched down.

Ash observed the ruined targets with barely suppressed glee. Of course, it wouldn't have the same effect on an actual rock type, but that would devastate practically anything that was unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end. Douse didn't even look tired and when he glanced back at Ash, anxiously seeking his approval, the boy immediately went for his bag.

He carefully pulled the Water Stone out and Douse gurgled with joy. Jasmine and Spectre watched eagerly as Ash approached the water type with the precious gem in his hand and knelt in front of his friend.

"That was perfect, Douse," Ash praised him. "I'm so proud of you for mastering Hydro Pump. You worked so hard and you've more than earned this."

Douse nodded, though his eyes were fixed on the sapphire gem in Ash's hands with a hazy expression. He was shivering just from his close proximity to the Water Stone and the boy was equally excited for this. He offered the gem to Douse and the Poliwhirl slowly held his hands open to receive it. Ash carefully let the Water Stone slide into Douse's glove-like palms, then backed up a few feet.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Douse's eyes flashed iridescent blue, squeezing shut tightly a second later as he made a low grunt, then a shock of white light engulfed his body. The Water Stone glowed bright sapphire in his hands, gleaming brighter and brighter as Douse absorbed its energy to evolve.

Ash, Jasmine, and Spectre watched, mesmerized, as Douse's body changed. Muscles bulged and granted him new height and bulk, making his arms and legs longer. His glove-like hands separated into three distinct fingers on each hand, thick and strong with the capability of gripping better than Douse could have done as a Poliwhirl. He developed hulking shoulders as his arms bulged with muscle and Ash heard a much deeper grunt a moment before the light of evolution exploded away from his friend.

Douse looked much the same as he had before. His skin was still damp and blue, with the classic black and white spiral pattern still perfectly visible on his belly. His eyes were more slanted and looked fiercer and his hands were still white, but that was where the similarities ended. He was far bulkier than he'd been as a Poliwhirl and taller- he was as tall as Ash now. Although he didn't have the intimidating presence of Pyro or Sobek, there was a sense of raw power about him that Ash felt more than made up for it. The Poliwrath in front of him had the potential to be just as strong as his other powerhouses.

"How do you feel?" Ash asked. Douse looked himself over with appraising eyes, flexing his new muscles casually, but Ash marveled at how much stronger they appeared to be even with that simple movement. He looked at Ash- equal in height with his trainer for the first time- and made a low, strong grunt. The sound went right through Ash's body and was by no means loud, but it was an impressive noise nonetheless.

The Water Stone was still in Douse's now-massive hands, but its color had faded from the bright sapphire to a duller blue. It was still quite pretty though, so Ash decided to keep the gem. It would be a memento of all the hard work Douse had gone through to reach this point.

Douse was too busy focusing on his new body to notice Ash take the gem and quietly place it back into his bag. The boy then snapped his fingers to get Douse's attention, jarring the Poliwrath back into reality.

"I'm going to give you a new move, Douse," Ash grinned at him. "Then we're going to see just what you can do with it in your new body. How does that sound?"

Douse's eyes gleamed brightly and he grunted with fierce eagerness. Ash recalled him then for just a few moments to place his pokeball in the TM Case. He quickly sent the knowledge for Brick Break into Douse's mind and then released the Poliwrath not two minutes later.

The water type was clenching his muscles with barely-restrained anticipation and Ash hurried over to the digital monitor on the wall to bring up new targets. Three more rock dummies popped up and Douse locked onto them instantly.

Ash couldn't wait a moment longer. "Do it!"

Douse lunged- he was surprisingly fast for that short distance with his new, longer legs- and clenched his right fist until it glowed bright white. The Poliwhirl swung at the first target-

-the dummy absolutely shattered. It wasn't so much blasted into chunks as it was reduced to pebbles and dust, which were sent flying across the room. Some of the fragments actually rebounded off the wall back at them, prompting Spectre to hurriedly float in front of Ash to use Protect in order to guard the boy from the stones.

Douse completely spun out of control for a moment because he'd vastly overestimated the amount of power he needed to destroy the target and surged right through it. He gurgled in surprise as he landed awkwardly and staggered for a few seconds, barely managing to keep his footing. Ash stared at the result with wide eyes. That Brick Break had been total overkill.

"Are you alright?!" Ash demanded. The last thing they needed was for Douse to overextend his muscles immediately after evolution- forget the tournament, that would _not_ be an appointment with Nurse Joy he would look forward to.

Much to his relief, Douse nodded back quickly. The Poliwrath clenched his muscles and swung his arm a little more reservedly, apparently trying to get a feel for his newfound power. Ash bit his lip as he considered what to do. He'd never expected for Douse's new strength to be such that he could lose control of his body like this. If he didn't get a grip on it, his own power could hurt him.

Not to mention, his opponents. Ash shuddered at the idea of Douse attacking another Pokemon with the same level of power that he'd just demonstrated. That would absolutely devastate anything that wasn't sturdy enough to withstand such a blow. He doubted even Pyro or Sobek could take such an attack and emerge unscathed. If a lesser Pokemon took a hit like that, the damage would be horrific.

Douse possessed a tremendous strength, but he was going to have to figure out how to use it safely.

"Time out, buddy," Ash called. Douse glanced at his trainer and nodded, retreating back to the boy. Ash looked at Jasmine and Spectre then. "You two start working on your new moves. I'll bring up a few more targets for you guys to practice on as you go, alright? Just be safe about it."

The pair made sounds of agreement and then started for the remaining two targets, offering Douse encouragement as he stepped away from the training area. Ash watched as Jasmine darted at her target and swung her tail, but it only glowed silver for a second and faded as she impacted the stone. Fortunately, she didn't hurt herself, though she looked slightly irritated and tried again. Spectre went over not to his target, but to the pebbles scattering the floor from Douse's overpowered attack and tried to make the small stones float with Psychic.

Ash grabbed his Pokedex and pulled up the information on Poliwrath as Douse approached him. He had read this file over countless times ever since he first captured Douse, but he'd never considered that his friend would have trouble with his own physical might after evolution.

In retrospect, he should have expected something like this to happen after going through flight training with Pyro. Douse had gained fighting type attributes like Pyro had developed flying type ones after his evolution. Just as Pyro had to adapt to his new wings and typing, Douse would have to master his new muscles. There was no way around it. They were a part of who he was now and he needed to learn how to use them safely.

Poliwrath possessed a musculature and bone density that far surpassed a Poliwhirl's, giving them the strength to swim and fight tirelessly. For sheer physical might, Poliwrath outmatched anything short of a Machamp with their short, but stocky bodies. Because they held a low center of gravity, they could use their incredible muscles to wrestle most foes to the ground and then pulverize them with devastating punches. Few Pokemon and even other fighting types could hope to match their strength in a close quarters bout.

Ash scanned the Pokedex furiously for ways to help his friend get used to his new body. He hadn't expected this kind of obstacle to come up, but it had happened and they had to do something about it.

The problem was Douse's lack of control. He couldn't yet measure how much of his strength was needed in order to safely use his attacks. To fix that, Douse needed to work on mastering his muscles and figure out what was enough and what was too much. Fortunately, there were many ways to go about that and none were remotely as hazardous as Pyro's test flights.

"Okay," Ash said slowly after getting an idea of what needed to be done. "We'll start off simple. A hundred push-ups, buddy."

Douse nodded and got into position. Push-ups wouldn't actually make him stronger, but they would give him a grasp of how much strength he had. Douse let his body drop and then pushed up-

-Jasmine and Spectre were jolted out of their training when a yell of surprise and then a startled grunt got their attention. The pair turned in time to see Douse reach his peak in the air- he'd pushed himself up twelve feet off the ground- then the Poliwrath fell with his limbs flailing as he attempted to right himself. Ash jumped as Douse fell and managed to catch the Poliwrath, cushioning the water type's fall with his body.

The breath was knocked out of him with a loud gasp and Ash let his body go limp for a few moments as Douse hurriedly rolled off of him. Douse didn't look all that heavy, but Ash had to remind himself that with all the new muscles, his friend weighed over a hundred and twenty pounds.

Jasmine and Spectre hurried over as Ash caught his breath and Douse looked at his trainer with an anxious expression. The boy sat up with a wince and flashed his concerned team a reassuring smile. "I'm okay. Are you good, Douse?"

Douse nodded slowly, though he was frowning. He was perplexed by how difficult this was- he'd looked forward to evolution so much that he'd never considered having any problems once he reached that threshold.

His attention was regained as Ash set a hand on his damp shoulder. The boy smiled. "Let's try it again. I think you need to use a little less power, okay?"

Boy, was _that_ the understatement of the year.

Douse grunted agreement and got back into a push-up position as Ash shooed Jasmine and Spectre back to training after assuring them that he was alright. He'd more or less put the same amount of effort into the exercise that he had as a Poliwhirl, but that was obviously too much. He needed to be more delicate with it this time.

Ash knelt beside Douse as the Poliwrath awaited his trainer's instruction, watching out of the corner of his eye as the boy gave him a nod. "Once again. But do it slowly, this time."

The Poliwrath grunted and slowly lowered himself to the floor. Then he pressed down against the floor to push himself up with considerably less strength than he'd used before. This time, he didn't go sailing into the air, but his hands did rise a few inches off the ground. He made an annoyed grunt, but paused when Ash set one hand on his back and another on his chest.

Ash looked at his friend with an encouraging smile on his face. "I'll help you. Remember, go slowly."

Douse nodded. He let Ash's hands serve as a guide, slowing himself whenever the boy put pressure on the spots where they lay. The third push-up took them almost a minute to do correctly, but Douse didn't leave the floor this time and completed the exercise.

"Good job, Douse," he praised. "Again."

They continued to perform the controlled push-ups for nearly an hour. During that time, Ash's arms turned to lead while Douse appeared to be utterly unaffected by the exercise. Just holding his hands in position on the Poliwrath's body for such an extended amount of time was killing his arms, but it was necessary for Douse's well-being.

Finally, Ash's arms couldn't take it anymore and he decided to switch to a different exercise. Douse had made good progress, but he was physically inferior to the Poliwrath and couldn't hope to match him for sheer stamina. It didn't look like Douse had even broken a sweat. His breathing was completely steady even after performing over a hundred controlled push-ups, while Ash was sweating bullets and let his arms hang uselessly at his sides.

"Okay," he took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his face. Ash flipped the Pokedex open again and considered the other exercises that would help Douse gain control over his muscles. "Next…controlled punches. It's the same idea as the push-ups. Take it slow and don't overexert yourself, okay?"

Douse nodded and got into a fighting stance, placing one foot in front of the other while his fists came up. He made a few slow jabs with his left fist, then went for a straight. The movement made him shift forward a few inches, so he stopped and repeated the motion more slowly.

Ash took the chance to glance at Jasmine and Spectre, who were still training. Jasmine had stopped swinging at her target after a few minutes when it became clear that she was having trouble maintaining Iron Tail, so she was currently flexing her tail while focusing steel type energy in order to hold the attack for a longer period of time. So far, she could use Iron Tail for about five seconds before it faded away.

Spectre, on the other hand, was rather enjoying his new move. Ash watched with a little amusement as the ghost used Psychic to levitate small stones in the air around him and make them float in a circle. He casually shot a few of the small rocks towards one of the two targets that still remained, but frequently, they lost momentum or flew off-course. Spectre's little training game gave Ash a few ideas, but none that could be worked on for the time being.

Douse seemed to be doing better with the controlled punches. In addition to getting a feel for his strength, he was also maintaining good form, even if it was just an instinctive position. Poliwrath were built more for wrestling than boxing like Hitmonchan or other species that specialized in punches, but the method of learning control had the same general effect.

Ash decided to step things up a notch- nothing too extreme, but enough to help Douse feel like he was really progressing. He went over to the small digital screen on the wall and brought up a new target to replace the one that had been obliterated earlier.

"Douse, practice on that one," Ash ordered. "Try to destroy it without turning it into dust."

The Poliwrath grunted and approached the target. Ash watched as Douse took a fighting stance in front of the stone dummy, making a few slow test punches before going for an actual attack. He winced as Douse's punch broke the target clean in half by pulverizing the center and making the top half fold in on itself. It wasn't as devastating as his Brick Break had been earlier, but that had just been a normal punch with no energy to enhance it at all.

He went back to the command screen and brought up another target for his friend. "Again."

* * *

Ash yawned for a solid ten seconds and wiped reflexive tears from his eyes. He was exhausted- they'd stayed up a lot longer than he'd thought training. By the time he got back to the room, Norman and Caroline had picked up May and Max, Leaf had returned to her own cabin, and Gary was sound asleep. Needless to say, he'd only gotten a few hours of sleep.

Now they were all waiting outside the tournament battlefield on the bow of the ship. It was a simple dirt field surrounded by bleachers on either side and trainer boxes on each end. It looked really professional and Ash wondered if this was what it would be like to battle in the Indigo League.

While they waited for the tournament to officially start, Ash went over his plan for the initial battles. He wanted to save Pyro and Sobek for the later matches, to keep their power and moves secret from the other trainers. To do that, he'd be relying on Eevee, Douse, Spectre, and Jasmine…at least, that had been the idea before last night.

Although Douse had made great progress with controlling his power last night, he still couldn't use his physical attacks like Brick Break or Mega Punch without completely obliterating a target. Ash had tested his ranged moves and while those were fine, it just wasn't safe for Douse- or his opponents- to battle until he mastered his new body. He would train extensively after the tournament battles were concluded for the day and hopefully, he could fight in the matches tomorrow.

So Ash planned on using Eevee, Spectre, and Jasmine for the preliminaries. It was a bit risky- he didn't doubt their power, but none of them held the sheer power that the rest of his team did. If one of the other trainers used a Pokemon as strong as Pyro or Sobek, they'd have a tough time winning. But they'd worked hard and he had full confidence that they could win these battles.

He yawned again and rubbed his eyes with incredibly sore arms . He really needed to get more sleep to make up for what he'd lost the night before.

There was suddenly a commotion in the stands and Ash jerked to attention, watching as a female sailor marched to the center of the field and smiled brightly at the crowd. She had an earpiece attached to the side of her head and when she tapped it, he heard the sound reverberate through the speakers around the ship.

"Testing, testing…" she repeated. When there appeared to be no problems, the young woman began to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the St. Anne Pokemon Tournament! My name is Angela, and I'll be your announcer! It's a beautiful day to start the preliminary rounds, isn't it? Can I hear some encouragement for all of the trainers participating?!"

The crowd practically screamed. Ash felt his face flush with nervousness. It wasn't like they were cheering just for him, but the idea made him feel a little self-conscious.

"Now then, let's get started, shall we?" She exclaimed. "The names of the trainers will be drawn at random! We have thirty-two trainers participating, meaning that there will be five rounds of battles! Today we will hold the preliminary rounds, followed by the quarter-finals and semi-finals tomorrow, and the finals the day after that! All of the battles will be broadcast across the ship and you can replay them on the televisions back in your cabins!"

"The rules for today are pretty simple! The first round of preliminaries will consist of one-on-one battles! If you win and move on to the second round, you'll be fighting double battle style in a two-on-two match!"

Angela went over to a box being held by another member of the crew and reached inside. "The first two trainers are…"

She drew a pair of small paper slips out and read the names off on them to the crowd. "Ash and Lock!"

Ash jerked in surprise. He was fighting right off the bat?

"Both trainers please proceed to the battlefield! Ash will be in the red corner and Lock in the blue corner!"

He swallowed nervously. This was it.

Ash felt someone slap him on the back and yelped, only to find that it was Gary who delivered the strike. His rival was grinning. "Wake up, lazybones! Get your butt out there and win!"

Leaf shot the boy an annoyed look and offered Ash an encouraging smile. "Good luck!"

Ash nodded back, took a deep breath, and made for the corner that Angela had designated his. He felt all eyes draw to him as he reached the red corner and hoped that he didn't look too nervous. On the other side of the field, another boy maybe a little older than he was faced him with an equally nervous face. He had green eyes and short, brown hair, while his outfit consisted of shorts and a simple green and white striped shirt. Lock nodded to Ash and he returned the gesture.

Angela, who was acting as the referee, made her way to the halfway point of the field and glanced from one trainer to the other. "Coin toss has determined that Lock has the first move! Release your Pokemon!"

Lock sent out a Psyduck, which looked just as clueless as the rest of its species. Ash had never fought one before, but he already knew which Pokemon he was going to choose.

Jasmine appeared in a flash of light and a collective series of gasps sounded as everyone saw her. She froze in alarm, evidently disturbed by all of the people, but Ash called to get her attention.

"It's okay, girl. Just focus on the battle. The people won't mess with you."

She trilled nervously, but coiled up in preparation for battle. He hoped his words of encouragement would help, because he was mentally telling himself the same thing. Jasmine's tail twitched on reflex and he couldn't help but smile. She was ready to fight.

"Are we ready to rumble?!" Angela demanded of the crowd. Ash and Lock both tensed as the crowd screamed, then Angela slashed her hand down. "Begin!"

"Water Gun!" Lock shouted immediately.

Psyduck tilted its head in confusion for a moment, then opened its beak and spat a jet of water. Jasmine quickly snaked away from the attack, easily evading the first shot. Psyduck fired off a few more Water Guns before pausing again to frown, as if it was wondering why it was attacking.

Ash jumped on the chance. "Use Dragon Rage!"

Jasmine lifted her head and let out a cry as she loosed a burst of blue draconic energy from her mouth. The fast shockwave collided with Psyduck and sent it flying several feet into the air while it made squealing quacks of protest.

"And a quick counter from Ash's Dratini!" Angela exclaimed. "Psyduck is in a bad spot!"

Lock seemed annoyed by the successful hit. "Psyduck, Water Pulse!"

Psyduck did as instructed a little faster this time, forming a sphere of water between its stubby hands in midair. The Water Pulse was launched at Jasmine with impressive speed, but she still easily evaded it. Lock's Pokemon bounced as it hit the ground with an indignant quack and Jasmine lunged to seize the opportunity.

"Dragon Tail!"

Jasmine's tail glowed iridescent green as she swiped sideways to clock Psyduck in the head, but Lock shouted a quick command to stop her. "Protect!"

A sphere of green energy encompassed Psyduck's body, causing the Dragon Tail to bounce off harmlessly. Jasmine narrowed her eyes and retreated as Psyduck spat more Water Guns. Two of them struck her, but did next to nothing against her scales.

Ash gauged Psyduck carefully for a few moments. Their kind were known for unleashing massive bursts of psychic energy from time to time despite not being psychic types at all. The power surges were thought to be related to unstable brain waves which took on the common symptoms of a building migraine. Psyduck seemed pretty alert right now (though no less dopey) and it didn't look like it had a headache brewing yet. It would be best if he finished the battle before it did.

"Thunder Wave," he ordered slowly. "Then blow it away with Dragon Rage!"

Jasmine did as instructed and discharged a small bolt of electricity from her horn. The Thunder Wave hit home and paralyzed Psyduck, making it wince in discomfort as debilitating cramps afflicted its body. She immediately followed up with Dragon Rage, blasting Psyduck while it was immobilized and unresponsive.

Lock clenched one of his fists as Psyduck went airborne again, landing on the ground headfirst with a painful thud. He smiled nervously when Psyduck got back up and Ash's eyes widened when the dopey creature gained a blue aura around its body.

Not good.

"Dragon Tail!" He exclaimed. "Knock it out!"

"Psychic!" Lock yelled urgently.

Jasmine lunged at Psyduck while her tail glowed in preparation for Dragon Tail, but before she could reach it, the yellow duck's eyes glowed a menacing blue. She was stopped in her tracks as blue energy outlined her body and let out a startled cry as Psyduck lifted her high into the air with its psychic powers.

"Turnaround!" Angela shouted. "Dratini's the one in trouble now! Psyduck's got it trapped in a Psychic attack!"

Lock was grinning widely now. "Slam it down!"

Psyduck quacked loudly and swiped one of its stubby hands in a downward motion. Jasmine was launched towards the field at a frightening speed, but Ash wasn't about to give up just like that.

"Use Flamethrower to slow your fall!" Ash ordered.

Jasmine managed to right herself and breathed out a stream of fire straight down, using the blast to repel herself up slightly and negate the effect of Psyduck's attack. Flames bathed the field as she slowed herself and some of them reached Psyduck, causing it to snap out of its psychic stupor as it tried to escape the heat of the flames. Jasmine still landed a little roughly, but she avoided taking serious damage.

Angela's announcements continued as the battle went on, exciting the watching spectators further. "And Dratini has escaped! It's got the edge again!"

Psyduck stared at Jasmine dumbly for a second, as though it didn't recognize her at all. It's brief migraine had come and gone, but Ash was wary of the strange Pokemon now and he wanted it out of the picture as quickly as possible.

"Agility!"

Jasmine slipped into the enhancing move immediately, blurring towards Psyduck in a zig-zag movement that made the duck quack again in confusion. It couldn't keep up with her speed and Lock seemed to be out of his depth as well. Ash saw an opportunity and he was going for it. "Dragon Tail!"

The Dratini suddenly closed in on Psyduck and propelled herself into the air with a thrust of her tail. She spun in a rapid forward flip for a moment, then slammed her glowing green tail right in between Psyduck's eyes, crushing it into the dirt beneath them. Psyduck didn't even manage to quack again as it was instantly knocked out by the impact. Jasmine used the force to launch her body back towards Ash, landing with an easy grace earned from countless hours of practice.

"That's it!" Angela declared. "Psyduck is unable to continue! Ash and his Dratini win!"

The crowd cheered loudly and Ash inwardly sighed in relief. That had been a little too close. Had Psyduck successfully slammed Jasmine into the ground with its Psychic attack, it would have definitely held the edge. Ash's team hadn't gone up against many psychic attacks in the past and he hadn't taught them how to deal with them. He'd gotten lucky.

Lock recalled Psyduck with a sigh, but he smiled at Ash and waved at him. Ash waved back and did his best to return the smile. The cheering of the crowd was making him feel uneasy again.

Jasmine slithered to her trainer and trilled for approval. Ash gave her a genuine smile and scratched the scales behind her white ears, prompting her to coo happily. He shifted his hand to scratch under her chin and murmured gently to her. "You did really well, girl. I'm proud of you."

He recalled her then and returned to the rest of the trainers as Angela made her next announcement. "That's the first match, folks! Ash will proceed to the second round of preliminaries! Now then, on to the second match! The next two trainers will be…"

* * *

Ash hadn't realized just how long a bunch of one-on-one battles could take. There were sixteen matches to be held between thirty-two trainers, and although they were all relatively short fights, the sheer number of trainers meant that the battles drew out until mid afternoon. He left to go grab lunch at one point, but returned quickly. He didn't want to miss out on any of the action.

Gary and Leaf had both made it through the first round with ease- Gary's Kadabra had taken down a rather impressive looking Machoke in a matter of minutes. Leaf's fight had been a bit closer because she'd sent in Rose against a Flareon, but she managed to win that battle in the end.

Finally, the last one-on-one match was completed, leaving the tournament with sixteen trainers still competing. Ash had successfully made it through the first preliminary round, along with Leaf and Gary. Angela took a gulp of water from a canteen and sighed as she prepared to announce for the next round of the tournament.

"Whew, it's been quite a day, hasn't it?" She remarked. The crowd evidently agreed, but they were eager for more- they were always eager for great battles between talented trainers. "Well, we've got sixteen trainers remaining! That means we can get started on the second round of the preliminaries- the double battles!"

"Again, the rules are simple. Each trainer will use two Pokemon in a double battle format and the battle will be concluded when both Pokemon on either side are unable to continue. Once more, the battle pairs will be decided by luck of the draw."

She dipped her hand into the box of names and pulled two of them out. With a quick glance, she announced the names of the next pair of fighters. "Round one for the double battles will be…Gary and Simon!"

"Alright, I'm up again!" Gary exclaimed. He grinned at Ash and Leaf. "Watch and learn!"

Leaf rolled her eyes. "What are we supposed to be learning? How to lose?"

Gary sneered at her, but it wasn't unkind so much as it was playful. "Something tells me you can learn about that yourself!"

Ash smirked as Leaf glared at him to snap back a retort, but he shoved Gary's shoulder lightly. "Get out there and win already. I want to fight again too, y'know."

"Yeah, yeah," he drawled. "I'll be quick."

He left then to join his opponent on the field. Simon was an elderly gentleman, wearing shorts and a vacation-themed shirt. Ash recognized him as the same man with the Noctowl that he'd seen when they first boarded the St. Anne.

Simon was given the first move and released a Dodrio and an Electabuzz, which smashed its fists together to generate an arc of electricity. Gary assessed the pair quickly and smirked before setting loose Wartortle and Nidoqueen.

Ash arched an eyebrow at Gary's chosen pair. Nidoqueen made sense- Electabuzz's electric moves _might_ tickle her and Dodrio probably had only a few ways to actually hurt her, but Wartortle would be very vulnerable to electric type attacks. Ash supposed that Gary could have been gunning for a type advantage over Dodrio since Wartortle knew Ice Beam, but he wondered if that was worth the risk.

Angela slashed her hand down. "Begin!"

"Dodrio, use Tri Attack on Nidoqueen," Simon ordered easily. "Electabuzz, Thunderbolt the Wartortle."

His Pokemon faithfully did as he commanded, launching their long-range moves at Gary's team. Dodrio's three heads each fired a burst of energy in the forms of a fireball, an icy ray, and a small bolt of electricity. Beside it, Electabuzz windmilled its arms and casually fired a large electric shock. Ash assumed that Simon was trying to divide up Wartortle and Nidoqueen, and so make it tougher for Gary to counter him effectively. But his rival wasn't that gullible and Ash knew it.

Gary countered the pair of attacks with almost contemptuous ease. "Protect, both of you."

Wartortle and Nidoqueen held up their arms and generated emerald shields, which caused Tri-Attack and Thunderbolt to wash off around their bodies harmlessly. Not missing a beat, Gary followed up with his own attacks. "Wartortle, use Defense Clone! Nidoqueen, Sludge Bomb!"

Nidoqueen bellowed and then began to spit globs of toxic sludge at the pair of enemies. Dodrio and Electabuzz began to dodge the attacks easily even as Nidoqueen swung her head from side to side in an effort to chase her targets. It would have been a lost cause if Wartortle wasn't busy taking advantage of her distraction with enhancing moves.

The turtle's body flashed briefly, then over a dozen illusory copies of himself appeared across the field. Dodrio let out a startled shriek as one of the clones appeared in front of it, but had no idea how to react when the clone immediately tucked into its shell. Ash raised an eyebrow as all of the Wartortle copies retreated into their shells and then glowed silver. Iron Defense. So Gary was using Nidoqueen as a distraction while Wartortle created further confusion and took the chance to buff its defenses. Smart.

"And what is this?" Angela exclaimed with interest clear in her voice. "Wartortle seems to be doing something interesting!"

Simon frowned. "Dodrio, Fury Attack on the copies. Electabuzz, target Nidoqueen with Ice Punch."

Dodrio's three heads all let out loud shrieks before it began to frenzy around the field, pecking ruthlessly at Wartortle's Double Team in an effort to pry out the real one. Nidoqueen turned to attack the bird only for Electabuzz to charge at her with its fist encased in icy energy. She growled threateningly at the electric type, but it was undeterred.

Gary waited for Electabuzz to get close before he snapped. "Protect!"

Electabuzz slammed its fist full-force into the emerald shield erected by Nidoqueen, snarling with surprise and brief pain from the sudden jolt it received for hammering the impenetrable barrier. While it was momentarily stunned, Gary gave Nidoqueen a follow-up command. "Crunch! Give it a toss!"

Nidoqueen's powerful jaws clamped down tightly onto Electabuzz's arm, causing it to roar in pain. Though it tried to pry her off, the smaller Pokemon was helpless as she gave a quick turn and hurled it back to Simon's side of the field, where it hit the ground roughly. For good measure, she spat a Sludge Bomb after it, prompting Electabuzz to roar once again as it took further damage.

"Uh-oh! Electabuzz is in a tight spot!" Angela gasped. "Is it already over for Simon's team?!"

Meanwhile, Dodrio stabbed its beaks into the last clone Wartortle had created, leaving only the original on the field. Simon was too focused on trying to get Electabuzz away from Nidoqueen's relentless assault and couldn't tell Dodrio to stop when it jabbed all of its beaks into Wartortle's toughened shell.

Dodrio let out a scream of fury as the ends of all of its beaks blunted slightly upon stabbing at the steel-like shell. It recoiled while shaking its heads, causing them to collide with each other. The triple bird started to fight with its own heads while Simon frantically ordered them to stop- he was losing control of the battle quickly. Electabuzz was still on the defensive and now Dodrio was fighting amongst itself.

Ash kind of felt bad for him. Gary was picking his team apart.

Gary knew it, too. The smirk on his face was telling of a trainer that knew he was doing a good job of destroying his opponent's concentration. Simon was completely out of sync with his Pokemon and Gary was about to gun for the finishing move.

"Wartortle, use Water Pulse on Dodrio!"

Wartortle popped out of his shell and immediately focused a sphere of liquid water between his claws, then launched the attack at the triple bird. Dodrio was still fighting with its other heads, so it didn't even see the move coming until it slammed into its body. The bird shrieked and glared at the sniggering turtle with utter fury in its eyes. Dodrio suddenly generated spiraling currents of air around its beaks and lunged at Wartortle, intent on driving the Drill Peck attack into its enemy.

"Rapid Spin!" Gary ordered. "Aim for the legs!"

Wartortle retreated back into his shell and began to spin, then shot forward just as Dodrio closed in. The bird overshot when Wartortle moved towards it and tripped on the spinning Pokemon that smacked into its ankles. Dodrio shrieked again as it tripped and fell, scrambling to regain its footing just as Wartortle's spinning brought him up into the air above the triple bird.

"Finish it with Ice Beam!"

Arcs of freezing energy crashed into Dodrio, sending cold shocks flowing over its body. Ash watched as the Ice Beam spread over Dodrio's body until it was completely frozen in a large chunk of ice, and only then did Simon recall his Pokemon with a deep frown upon his face.

Wartortle landed easily and sniggered for a second. Then-

-a shock of white light ripped through the field, causing the audience to release shocked gasps. Ash's eyes grew wide as Wartortle began to change shape. Wartortle was-

Gary was smirking wider than Ash would have thought possible. "I knew he was ready!"

"OH WOW!" Angela practically screamed. "Take a look at that! Wartortle is starting to evolve!"

The crowd watched with wide eyes as Wartortle doubled in height. His body grew more bulky and the shell covering his form became thicker and stronger. The tail and ears both shrunk down into smaller appendages, but the arms, legs, claws, and head became larger and tougher. At his shoulders, sections of the shell opened up and two cannon-like formations protruded from the openings.

With a massive bellow, the evolutionary light burst away and revealed Gary's starter to have reached his final stage.

Blastoise.

"And Gary's Wartortle EVOLVES in the middle of an intense battle!" Angela declared. The crowd around them was yelling and screaming with excitement. "How will Simon deal with Blastoise and its undoubtedly greater power?!"

Simon definitely looked worried now. "Thunder!"

Electabuzz windmilled its arms and with a furious howl, launched a tremendous bolt of lighting at Blastoise. The massive turtle sneered while his trainer gave him a command almost casually. "Protect!"

Blastoise's emerald shield easily withstood the massive shock, but Gary wasn't the type to get caught up in a new evolution and lose concentration. "Nidoqueen, throw Electabuzz!"

Nidoqueen charged at the electric type and was on top of it before Simon could counter. Electabuzz launched a massive shock at her on reflex, but she just snorted and shrugged it off before grabbing her prey by the face. Nidoqueen then spun around and hurled the electric type towards her teammate.

Gary snapped his fingers. "Skull Bash!"

Even Angela winced at the crushing impact produced by Blastoise's thick skull colliding with Electabuzz's body. The electric type was sent flying back at Simon and was probably unconscious before it even slammed into the ground, which prompted Simon to recall his last Pokemon with a sigh and dip his head to admit defeat. Blastoise bellowed his victory while Nidoqueen merely snorted, but she looked pleased with herself.

"That's it! Electabuzz is down, meaning that the winner is Gary! Blastoise's timely evolution brought with it a ticket to victory! Where will this take him later in the tournament?!"

Leaf frowned at the massive turtle, which was now flexing his cannons while he inspected his new body properly. "Blastoise, huh?"

"Yeah," Ash agreed. He stared at the titan of a water type with careful, gauging eyes. "He's way stronger than he was as a Wartortle."

* * *

Ash ended up having to wait until the second round was about halfway over before his name was called again- and about time, too. It was so hot outside that he just wanted to retreat to his cabin and cool off for a while. But he also didn't want to miss any of the battles or not be present when the time came for his second match.

Fortunately, Gary had been generous enough to bring both Ash and Leaf a drink while they waited. He looked very proud of himself and was letting Blastoise parade around with him. Of course, the massive turtle was taking the chance to get used to his new body, but Ash and Leaf both knew that Gary and his starter just wanted to show off their newfound power.

"Alright, it's time for the fifth battle!" Angela announced. "This next battle will pit Ash against Rick! Trainers, to the battlefield!"

Ash walked to his corner of the field quickly. He wanted to get this fight over with and then go cool off. Oh, he was looking forward to a good battle, but the promise of air conditioning was almost as good as the prospect of victory right now.

Rick was a boy that looked to be nearly fourteen or so. He was probably just entering his teenage years, although he was also fairly short- probably only as tall as Ash was. He had short silver hair and gray eyes, a feature which was rather unique. He wore a simple, sleeveless shirt and a pair of baggy pants, over which was a belt lined with pokeballs. Ash also recalled seeing Rick when he first boarded the St. Anne- he'd been the trainer with the Luxray and Skarmory. Rick had cleared his first match easily with Luxray's strength. It would be unwise to underestimate him.

Rick dipped his head to Ash, appearing rather calm even amidst the cheering of the crowd. Ash nodded back and once again mentally ran through his plan. Rick was probably one of the higher level trainers in the tournament. He wasn't quite as strong as Gary or Leaf, but he was still a force to be reckoned with- especially his Luxray. The massive feline relied on stunning opponents with debilitating flashes of light before blasting them with massive electrical discharges.

Ash was wary of Luxray. Two of his strongest Pokemon- Pyro and Douse- were weak to electric attacks and although he didn't plan on using either of them in this fight, he wanted to make sure he had a way of countering the lion.

Sure enough, when Rick released his two Pokemon, Luxray was one of them. The massive feline was sitting down and stared at Ash with regal, gleaming eyes, but he was undeterred. He had a way to defeat the electric type.

Rick's second Pokemon was a Nidorina, and although it wasn't nearly as intimidating as his first, Ash didn't doubt for a moment that it was well-trained. The poison type was a bit smaller than Gary's Nidorina had been, but that didn't mean it wasn't strong.

Ash set loose Sobek and Spectre for this fight. He had wanted to keep Sobek's power unknown to the other trainers early on in the tournament, but against Luxray, it wasn't worth risking the possibility of losing.

Sobek snarled upon seeing Luxray and the electric type's thick black fur bristled slightly as its lips curled up to reveal white fangs. Spectre merely blinked at the pair of opponents even as Nidorina's spines began to secrete venom- but Ash knew he was ready for a fight. Across the field, Rick gauged his opponent's Pokemon with careful eyes. He didn't seem even the slightest bit deterred.

"Here it goes!" Angela lifted her hand up. "Ash versus Rick! Begin!"

Rick didn't miss a beat. "Electric Terrain!"

Luxray's fur practically exploded outwards as it jumped to its paws and roared. Electricity blasted from its body and surged out to engulf the ground until the whole battlefield was covered in dancing sparks. The dirt field took on a yellowed, almost golden hue as it was charged up with electrical energy and Luxray began to pace. Its hunt had begun.

Ash stared at the electrified field for just a moment. He'd never come across a move quite like this one before. Against Erika, he'd gone up against Sunny Day, but that had only enhanced the sun's effects. This spread over the whole battlefield in a way that was tangible. None of the sparks were dangerous enough to actually hurt Spectre (Sobek was immune, after all) but Ash was wary of the technique. It was alien to him.

"Luxray, use Swift on Krookodile!" Rick commanded, jarring Ash back into focus. "Nidorina, Thunderbolt the Duskull!"

Luxray growled and its star-shaped tail tip glowed as it leapt into the air, then it lashed out with its tail and launched dozens of glowing stars towards Sobek. Nidorina, meanwhile, fired a surge of lightning that was by far one of the strongest Thunderbolts Ash had ever seen.

"Incinerate!" Ash countered quickly. "Protect!"

Sobek spat a gout of flame to meet the Swift attack, generating a series of explosions in midair. Spectre hurriedly brought up an emerald shield to absorb the massive Thunderbolt, which actually held enough force to push Spectre back even with the barrier up. Ash frowned at that. It looked like Electric Terrain was enhancing their electric attacks. He'd never seen a Pokemon that wasn't an electric type use a Thunderbolt as powerful as that.

Rick went on the offensive again, undeterred by his initial failure. "Iron Tail!"

Luxray, still in the air, flipped forward then while its long tail glowed silver. With a roar, it made to smash the steel type move into Sobek's skull, who roared a challenge. But Rick had made a mistake.

"Thunder Fang!" Ash shouted. Although it wouldn't do a lot of damage, if Electric Terrain enhanced every electric type move on the field, it would probably do enough to discourage Rick from getting too close to Sobek.

Sobek's maw crackled with lightning the likes of which Ash had never seen before. Rick's eyes widened in surprise as the Krookodile's electrified fangs crunched down on Luxray's Iron Tail, causing the electric type to yowl in stunned pain. Sobek then spun and hurled Luxray clear across the field, where it smacked the ground once before regaining its footing and skidding to a stop.

Rick frowned just the slightest and Ash grinned. That had been a nasty surprise for him.

"What an intense battle!" Angela exclaimed. "I can't take my eyes off of it!"

Ash took the initiative now. "Sobek, use Stone Edge on Luxray! Spectre, use Shadow Sneak on Nidorina!"

Sobek roared and slammed his fist into the ground, causing a line of jagged stones to punch out of the battlefield. Luxray snarled and managed to evade it, but Nidorina wasn't even faced with an attack- as Spectre tried to dive into the shadows on the ground, he was repelled by the electrical sparks.

"Fine," Ash clenched his fist. If that didn't work, he'd try something else. "Shadow Ball!"

Spectre generated a sphere of pitch black even as Sobek tried to assault Luxray again. Rick had pulled himself together in the meantime and was ready when Spectre fired the ghost type move at Nidorina.

"Thunderbolt!"

Nidorina's electric attack blasted into Shadow Ball and blew it apart, then continued to surge on and crashed into Spectre's small body. The little ghost made a hollow sound of pain, but he was still able to go on. Ash gritted his teeth. Even with Spectre's impressive defenses, he couldn't take more than a few of those bolts. They were so overpowered while Electric Terrain was in effect.

"Luxray, use Flash!" Rick suddenly ordered.

Even Ash had to throw his arm over his eyes to guard against the blinding flare of light that was accompanied by Luxray's furious roar. It was such a cheap tactic, but he couldn't deny its effectiveness. He heard Sobek bellow in rage and painfully blinked the remaining spots away to find that Luxray had the Krookodile pinned to the ground. Luxray's fangs were digging into Sobek's throat while the dark type flailed and roared with terrible wrath.

Nidorina had charged Spectre and was also trying to Bite him, but the little ghost had barely managed to evade the initial attack and was now dancing away. He was too slow, though- Nidorina would catch him sooner or later. Ash decided to go for a risk and went for a hail mary. "Psychic!"

Spectre's single eye flashed bright blue and then Nidorina was suspended in the psychic energy. It was wincing in discomfort due to its natural weakness to the psychic type move, but Ash knew Spectre couldn't hold the attack for long, so he quickly followed up. "Throw her at Luxray!"

Spectre used his wispy hands to guide the Psychic attack and lifted Nidorina into the air, then hurled her towards her own partner. Luxray released Sobek's throat with a yelp of surprise as Nidorina's spiky body crashed into its flank. The pair rolled across the field in a manner that was almost comical, but Ash didn't waste a second to notice. "Sobek, use Stone Edge!"

The Krookodile immediately rolled onto his side and slammed his fist into the ground, roaring as a blade of stone punched upwards into both Luxray and Nidorina to claim his revenge. He staggered to his feet and Ash winced at the thin trails of blood running down his throat. Luxray's fangs hadn't dealt a lot of damage against Sobek's tough scales, but that had to hurt.

Luxray and Nidorina hit the ground roughly and shakily got back to their feet, glaring at the pair of enemies. Sobek and Spectre also took the chance to regroup and leered right back. Both sides were hurt and the fight was much closer than either Ash or Rick wanted it to be.

"Sobek, use Dig!" Ash ordered. "Spectre, Confuse Ray!"

"Luxray, counter with Flash!" Rick commanded.

Sobek dove underground just as Spectre's eye glowed bright red, but Luxray's body flared with light as it roared and blew Confuse Ray into harmless light waves. Spectre was forced to cover his eye again and Rick took advantage of it. "Nidorina, use Thunderbolt!"

Nidorina had just started to charge its body with electricity when the ground beneath its feet exploded upwards. The poison type let out a squeal as Sobek gnashed his massive fangs into its body, then began to shake his head back and forth ruthlessly. He let out guttural snarls as he shook Nidorina like a rag doll into submission and then threw it harshly against the ground, where it lay there, dazed and unresponsive.

Luxray let out a howl of rage and lunged at Sobek with a murderous expression even while the Krookodile snarled back with a baleful red in his eyes as Moxie took effect. But before either of them could make contact with each other, a sphere of blue fire came sailing from Ash's side of the field and crashed into Luxray's flank with an explosion of black and blue energy.

Spectre's Ghost Flare had been perfectly timed- it didn't do a large amount of damage, but it stunned Luxray and judging from its singed fur, Ash was willing to bet it had gotten a nasty burn from the blue flames. While it was knocked off-balance, Sobek made his move.

With a shriek of victory, Sobek clamped his jaws down onto Luxray's shoulders and used his claws to grip it firmly. The electric type howled in pain and fury, but its reflexive bolts did nothing against Sobek's hide. It was still a large Pokemon though, and Sobek couldn't shake it the same way as he had with Nidorina.

Luxray continued to roar and flail in Sobek's deadly grip, but it couldn't get free from the Krookodile's powerful jaws. They were in a stalemate and Ash didn't want to chance Luxray escaping, so he ordered Spectre to finish it. "Shadow Ball."

The black sphere of ghostly energy exploded in Luxray's face and startled Sobek into releasing the electric type, but despite losing his grip, the battle was over. Luxray slumped to the ground with a snarl still plastered on its face, but its eyes were closed and its body was limp. Sobek cast a mildly irritated glare at Spectre for finishing his prey, but Ash calmed the massive dark type with a proud smile, prompting him to grin back toothily.

"Luxray has fallen!" Angela declared. "That makes Krookodile and Duskull the winners! Ash proceeds to the quarter-finals!"

The crowd cheered wildly. It had been an intense battle and Ash sighed in relief now that it was over. He'd thought that Rick had bested him there a couple of times- Luxray had been an absolute menace even with a type disadvantage.

Rick recalled his two unconscious Pokemon and murmured something to the devices which contained them. He then looked up at Ash and smiled, nodding in respect. Ash smiled back and returned the gesture. Rick had pushed him farther than he'd been pushed in a while. That had been a great battle.

After recalling Sobek and Spectre, he made his way back to the spot where Leaf and Gary were waiting and received a slap on the back for a job well done. Ash didn't even wince this time and smiled to himself as he awaited the next trainer battle.

He was going to keep winning. He had every intention of leaving the St. Anne a winner.

* * *

 **A/N: Whew, I spoil you guys so much! This is a 25k word chapter! Anyways, let's get to the important stuff- the St. Anne Tournament! It's been a long time coming, so let me announce the names of the readers who submitted an OC and were accepted for this chapter's battles! Lock belongs to Pikachu564 and Rick came from Lezaroth! Congrats, you two! Simon was actually an OC of my own creation because I didn't originally plan on showcasing one of Gary's battles in this chapter, but plans changed! Anyways, the next chapter will conclude the St. Anne Arc! Look forward to it! Now, onto the review responses for chapter thirteen!**

 **Cottonmouth25:** **Beautiful chapter! The return of Pikachu was nice, as were the TEN curb-stomps in a row and the rescue at the end. Every chapter you publish is more exciting than the last! Keep it up!**

 **-Thank you! I'm so glad that you liked it!**

 **Vallavarayan: Woo. Those fights scenes were awesome! Great job man. Two fully evolved Pokemon now. Any hint on when Jasmine will be evolving?**

 **-Make that three! And as for Jasmine's evolution, all I can say is that it's going to take a long time! Dragon types grow very slowly, after all!**

 **HeyStardust: I'll just say that when you update the world seems more beautiful.**

 **-The world is more beautiful when you guys tell me things like this! Thank you so much! I'm happy that I can bring a little light into your day :)**

 **badassumbreon: Well that was a really fun chapter! The one and only problem I have with long chapters is that it makes it hard to remember everything that was in it, which isn't exactly much of an problem at all. Really liked a lot of things that I saw here, primarily the training and semi-return of Pikachu. Sobek evolving was very good right here and let it get closer to matching Pyro in power. Happy to see Douse, Eevee, Jasmine, and Spectre getting some more attention and power here, because it still does feel at least a little like they're unpowered. One thing that I do think you could add more of just based on past observations is on-screen training. The way you write just seems like it could flow into that really well, so I would possibly suggest thinking about that. Fantastic chapter though, really loving what I'm seeing here and can't wait for the next one!**

 **-My chapters have been getting longer and longer as I write this story, haven't they? Ehehe, but I'm glad you like it! I spent a fair amount of time in this chapter helping to improve some of Ash's weaker Pokemon, so I hope that they live up to expectations in the tournament! I agree that I'll be adding more on-screen training. I know it can sometimes be monotonous, but I have so many ideas! You'll be seeing a lot of that training after the St. Anne arc is complete!**

 **As always, please review and thanks for reading!**


	15. Six Versus Six

_Chapter Fifteen: Six Versus Six_

"Woohoo!"

Ash and Leaf simultaneously rolled their eyes as Gary cheered for the umpteenth time. He was even more pumped up than normal following their successful day in the tournament and Blastoise's evolution. Their little group was currently eating dinner in the dining hall, said group consisting of the trio of young trainers and Norman's family. The tournament had lasted practically all day and Leaf's match had been the very last one, but she'd pulled through. Now they were all filling their bodies with the sustenance they needed after such a long day.

Gary twirled his fork casually in his hand before stabbing it into some unfortunate spaghetti. "We kicked ass today!"

"Language," Caroline scolded him, letting her motherly side out on the boy. Fortunately, her own children were busy admiring the trio's Pokemon and hadn't heard Gary's brief profanity. Max seemed torn between wanting to check out Blastoise's cannons or feel Douse's huge arm muscles. Meanwhile, May had Eevee in her lap again and was feeding her treats.

Undeterred, Gary only grinned at Caroline's warning. "Sorry, but today was awesome! Now that Blastoise has evolved, there's no way I'm gonna lose the tournament!"

Ash cracked a competitive grin. "Don't jinx yourself. Remember, Douse evolved too."

"And Saur will probably have evolved by tomorrow morning," Leaf said smugly. "Let's see your starter beat mine when he's become a Venusaur."

"Uh-huh, big talk," Gary scoffed. He was being particularly arrogant this evening, but Ash supposed he'd earned it. Blastoise _had_ made an impressive showing, after all, and he didn't doubt that the massive water type would be a real threat in the tournament.

He was already thinking about the best way to beat Blastoise if he had to fight Gary later on.

Norman seemed amused by the banter. "Well, confidence is good and all, but don't overdo it. Remember that Blastoise only just evolved- it'll take him some time to get used to his new body."

"We'll figure it out," the boy assured him. "Blastoise is adaptable. By the time the finals come round, he'll have a grip on himself."

Leaf raised an eyebrow. "You say that like you think you can get past Ash and I."

Gary pointed his fork at her. "Oh, I'll get past you two. I don't care if I gotta fight you one after another. There's no way I can lose this tournament now."

"Really?" Ash glanced at his team and smirked. "You think you're good enough to beat Pyro, Sobek, _and_ Douse? I'd like to see you try."

"Watch and learn, Ashy boy," Gary snickered. "I'll do it, mark my words."

"Bring it on," Ash challenged.

Leaf scoffed at the pair. "Oh, sit down, both of you. You've had your fun for today. If you keep going back and forth like this, I'll steamroll you tomorrow."

"With what?" Gary leered at her. "The only Pokemon you've got that's fully evolved is your Fearow! None of the others besides Ivysaur are gonna be evolving by the time this tournament is through. Ashy boy and I have got at least three of our Pokemon at their final stage."

"Don't make me bring back Onix," Leaf sipped at her drink while she glared at the boy out of the corner of her eye. "Your grandpa might be babysitting him, but there _is_ a Pokemon transfer system here on the ship, you know."

"Then please, bring him over," her rival shot back. "I'll introduce him to Blastoise for target practice."

Norman interrupted them there. "I think that's enough for tonight, you three. Save some of that competitive energy for the other trainers. There are five more just like you that were good enough to make it to the quarter finals. If you can't beat them, you won't make it to the finals in the first place."

They did settle down, although the energy sparking between the three young trainers was almost tangible. Ash finished up his dinner first and immediately stood to leave. "Gotta go. I need to work with my team in the training room again."

Gary stood up as well. "Me too!"

Leaf eyed the pair dryly. "You two go on and hurry off. I'm going to actually savor my dinner for a while. This is the best food I've eaten in months."

"Your loss," Gary grinned, then recalled his Pokemon (Much to Max's disappointment) and took off.

Ash made to recall his own team when May looked up at him with Eevee still relaxing in her lap. "Ash, can I come?"

He didn't actually have a problem with he coming along- others had watched him train before, but he wasn't sure if May's parents would be quite as okay with it as him. Ash glanced at Norman and shrugged, showing that he didn't have any misgivings about it.

Norman and Caroline exchanged a quick glance, but it was decided without any further delay. "We're alright with it as long as Ash is."

Ash nodded. "Sure. Come on, May. We've got a lot of work to do."

"Okay!" She exclaimed, standing up with Eevee safely secured in her arms. The little normal type looked kind of annoyed at the sudden movement, but May started to pet her again and just like that, all was forgiven. Ash couldn't help but smile at the sight.

Those two really got along.

"Make sure she's back at the cabin by nine," Norman asked of the boy. "If May doesn't get to bed on time, she can get a little cranky the next day."

 _"_ _Daddy!"_ May protested with a rather adorable pout. "I do _not!"_

Norman gestured at the girl, a small grin on his face. "See?"

May colored a little and Caroline admonished her husband for it. "Give her a break, dear. May's been looking forward to this trip for such a long time. She can stay up a little later if she wants to."

"I suppose I could cut her some slack," Norman agreed cheerfully. Ash smirked at the man- he just liked to push his daughter's buttons. He wasn't actually all that strict. Of course, neither May or Max needed to figure that out quite yet. They did, after all, have some very amusing reactions.

"Oh!" May suddenly exclaimed. "Mommy! Do you think I could sleep over at Ash's room?"

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Sweetie, we've been with Ash all day. You don't want to bother him."

"But…" The girl looked down at Eevee with an unhappy face. Her bottom lip trembled a little. "I wanna stay with Ash and Eevee…I promise I'll be good!"

Ash felt sympathy towards the little girl and crouched so that he was eye level with her. "Hey, how about we go train now, and then you can ask your mom and dad again when we get back to your room?"

May nodded, though she still looked a bit upset. Ash stood back up then to recall his team (with the exception of Eevee) and led his charge out of the dining hall with a quick goodbye to Leaf, Norman, and Caroline.

They took their time getting to the training area. On the way, Ash took a glance at May and noted that the girl was still pouting. As adorable as it was, he wasn't mean enough to leave her in such a state.

"You know your dad was just messing with you, right?" He asked.

May looked up at him and the adorable pout disappeared a little, though not completely. "But my daddy _always_ says stuff like that! It's embarrassing!"

"Yeah, my mom messes with me, too," Ash chuckled. He offered her a grin. "Do you want to know the trick to get back at him?"

"What is it?" She asked, all attention focused on him.

"The trick is…" Ash glanced around to make sure no one was listening, like he was about to share some kind of huge secret, then knelt slightly to whisper in her ear. "…to play his game."

"Huh?"

He smirked. "If he embarrasses you, try to embarrass him right back. I think that'd be pretty funny, don't you?"

May's lips curled up in a huge smile of mischievous delight. "Yes! I wanna try it!"

"Give it a shot," he encouraged her, mentally apologizing to Norman for turning his little girl to the dark side. "Just don't tell him that I told you about this. It's a secret, right?"

"It's a secret!" She agreed with a giggle. They started to walk again, but now May had a much more cheerful face. Ash was happy that she'd returned to being the bubbly little girl he was familiar with.

"Hey, Ash?"

He glanced at May again, who was staring at him with a curious expression. "What's your daddy like?"

That one caught him by surprise. "What?"

"What's your daddy like?" She asked. "I bet he's really cool!"

Ash was utterly silent for a few seconds, then he diverted his gaze straight ahead of him. "…who knows."

"Huh?" May's face became perplexed. In her arms, Eevee's ears twitched and she opened one eye to appraise her trainer, who appeared to be stiffer to her. He was uncomfortable.

He didn't actually answer May because it was only a minute later that they arrived at the training room and Ash focused his mind on the task at hand. Conveniently, he didn't have to actually pay to use the room again- since he'd paid for it once, he could visit the place as much as he wanted until the cruise was over. All he had to do was swipe the key card to his room in a scanner every time he came by.

The young trainer set loose the rest of his team as Eevee jumped out of May's arms and went to join her companions. While she, Pyro, and Sobek took a moment to scan they surroundings, (Douse, Spectre, and Jasmine had already been here, after all) Ash went over to the digital control panel on the side of the wall and brought up a few target dummies for his team to practice on. May hung back with him, but she smiled and waved at Ash's Pokemon, most of which sent their own greetings back at her.

"Alright, listen up!" Ash barked, immediately getting the attention of his whole team. "Tonight's going to be pretty basic stuff. We can't get too crazy in this place, but we can do some simple target practice and light sparring. Eevee, I want you to help out Jasmine- she was having some trouble learning Iron Tail last night. Pick a target and teach her as best you can."

Eevee nodded quickly and chittered to her friend, who slithered after the normal type to one of the targets with an eager trill. Ash's eyes followed them for a moment before he looked next to his starter. "Start working on Dragon Rush again, but keep it on the ground. There's not a lot of room in here for flying and I want you ready to fight on foot if you have to, anyways. Try to feel out some dragon type energy. I want to get that move mastered soon."

Pyro growled an affirmative and stomped away towards the target nearest to them, which he immediately lunged at. May jumped with a little squeak as the Charizard barreled right through the target and sent a burst of rubble flying into the air, but Ash only smirked. That was just Pyro's warm-up attempt. He'd spend more time focusing on the energy of Dragon Rush before charging the next time.

"Spectre, go with him," Ash ordered. "Practice Psychic on the rubble that Pyro leaves behind. Try and lift up as much of it as you can and hold it until you can't keep going. I'll come check on you in a bit."

The Duskull floated over to Ash to tap his forehead in understanding. Ash smiled back and tapped the ghost's mask, to which Spectre hijacked his cap and floated away with a hollow chuckle. He shook his head after the most free-spirited member of his team, but then turned to his remaining pair of Pokemon.

"Sobek, I'm going to need your help with Douse," Ash told him. The Krookodile paid rapt attention as his trainer went on. "Douse is having a lot of trouble controlling his power and I think we both know you need some more resistance training."

Sobek let out a growl and Ash frowned at him. "I know it's not your favorite exercise, but you don't want a repeat of what happened during your battle with Pyro when he first evolved, do you? Douse probably has an even stronger Brick Break than Pyro, as well. If you can take that, you can definitely take Pyro on even footing."

He could tell that his suggestion was tempting to the huge croc. Sobek was a very prideful creature and that was usually the best way to encourage him to participate in training exercises. Pyro was his main competition- always had been, and the last time they'd battled, the Charizard had crushed him. Under no circumstances would the Krookodile accept that, so he'd resort to any training necessary to even the odds.

Not that Ash was about to turn Sobek into a punching bag. He needed the croc to fight tomorrow, after all, and taking a beating from Douse with his newfound strength was just a bad idea. No, he had something different in mind.

"Here's the idea," he began. "You're going to fight each other at close range. Hand-to-hand combat only, but don't use any moves."

It was an odd idea that got him some equally confused looks, but the boy was adamant regarding the training. "Douse, you need to gain more control over your muscles. I don't want you to hammer Sobek with Brick Break until you can control a regular punch, alright? And Sobek, this training is to get your arms into shape for an attack I want to teach you after the tournament."

The pair's eyes cleared with understanding and they each nodded at their trainer. Sobek and Douse then offered their sparring partner a competitive glare and squared up to battle. Ash led May a fair distance away from the pair, knowing that they could get rather…eager during fights.

He glanced between the two warriors and repeated the conditions of the match. "Remember, no energy attacks! Close range only and don't stop until I say so. Are you both ready?"

Sobek brandished his claws and snarled while Douse cracked his knuckles silently. There was a brief moment of quiet, then Ash snapped suddenly. "Go!"

Sobek lunged first, slashing at Douse's round body, but he let out a growl of surprise when the Poliwrath quickly squatted under his swing. Douse immediately stood back up, now in the Krookodile's space, and threw two quick punches that took Sobek in the chest and stomach. The impact was enough to make him double over and skid back several feet- the croc's breath had been knocked out of him for just a moment, but then Sobek roared in fury and charged again. He couldn't believe that he'd been tagged so easily.

He would not be so careless from now on.

Ash watched with satisfaction as Sobek began to match Douse's movements blow for blow with more precision and speed than before now that his short fuse had been lit. He was pissed, but he was putting his rage to good use- Sobek absolutely _hated_ being hit like that. His rage helped him focus and turned him into a deadly predator, intent on bringing his prey down with all his might. He was relentless and would savage anything not capable of keeping up with him.

Fortunately, Douse was capable, albeit a little slower. He was less used to his new form than Sobek was even though they had both evolved within the same week. Sobek just had a few extra days on the Poliwrath and had had a chance to fight already- he knew what he was doing. Douse was still adjusting. But Douse also had enough power to match Sobek and when he wasn't diverting the croc's terrible claws with quick shoves of his hands, he was trying to get in a punch here and there.

It was tougher now that he was trying to punch something that could move quickly and hit back, but Ash could see that Douse was slipping into a more natural rhythm than before. His combat instincts were taking over, and just as with any instincts that a creature held, they helped him to focus and master his strength. Sobek was perfect for this- a savage opponent with a ferocity that would force Douse on the defense.

Ash had come to the conclusion earlier that this was the only way to help Douse master his power before the tournament ended. He could try to help the Poliwrath control his new strength with the same kind of exercises as the night before, but that would likely take too long and wouldn't give Douse a chance to get a feel for his body in combat. Even if he gained control, he wouldn't be able to fight effectively.

But this was a solution that could work. It was dangerous for any opponent not capable of taking a blow from Douse, but Sobek's ruthless nature meant that the Poliwrath wasn't getting much of a chance to fight back. To make things safer, Ash had also banned the use of actual attacks. It may have seemed counterproductive, but it had the potential to work wonders.

Douse didn't know his own strength, but his _body_ did. His natural instincts, potent and sharp as ever, would do the teaching that Ash couldn't in the short time that they had. By fighting something that was capable of taking a punch from Douse and even fight back on equal ground, (at least in this setting) the Poliwrath was forced to rely on his body's own reactions. Inexperience and lack of control caused his mind to give way to baser instincts in the face of a challenging opponent. His instincts would fill the gaps of knowledge that he currently lacked.

At least, that was the theory.

Ash winced as Sobek took a blistering punch to the jaw and he saw a bloody fang go flying. Hopefully May hadn't seen that.

Regardless, Sobek let out a furious caterwaul and retaliated by spinning and crashing his powerful tail into Douse's belly, which sent the Poliwrath flying into one of the stone targets. Douse sailed clean through the dummy and hit the ground hard along with a fair amount of rubble, but he staggered to his feet a moment later in a daze. Sobek thrashed his tail and Ash curled his lip when he saw the Krookodile's tongue push through a gap in his line of formidable teeth. One of the fangs in his top jaw was gone.

It was kind of gross seeing the way his tongue felt around the empty space of bleeding gums, but Sobek stopped after a second and leered at Douse angrily. He was already primed for round two and he loudly snapped his jaws to make the Poliwrath hurry.

Ash chanced a glance at May and was relieved that the little girl hadn't been watching when Douse punched out Sobek's tooth. She was actually over by Eevee and Jasmine, watching as the pair practiced holding Iron Tail as long as they could. Eevee was chittering something to Jasmine, who paid careful attention to her mentor.

He looked back at Douse and Sobek, who were squaring up for another fight. "Keep it up. I'm going to check on the others."

The only acknowledgement he got was a hiss and a grunt. Ash briefly watched the pair get into it again for another moment before he headed off to check on the others.

Pyro hadn't actually blitzed through another target since his warm-up. He was currently holding the position he always did before using Dragon Rush and seemed to be focusing on something. His dark eyes were glued to some unknown spot while his body trembled just the slightest. Ash assumed he was trying to get a feel for the dragon type energy they'd been reaching for ever since their first meeting.

Nothing about Pyro appeared to be visibly different this time, although Ash could feel some faint energy that was raising the hairs on the back of his neck. It wasn't tangible yet, but maybe Pyro was starting to touch it…?

It was absurd how difficult this was- even after practicing for nearly six months, Pyro just hadn't been able to feel the energy he needed. Ash had a feeling that once he touched it, the rest would fall into place without much trouble, but the trickiest part of a non-dragon learning a dragon type move was getting in touch with the energy.

Dragon Pokemon like Jasmine were able to feel the energy with ease, as it flowed through their bodies naturally. The difficulty lay in harnessing that energy into powerful attacks. Moves like Dragon Rush and Dragon Pulse were so difficult because one had to gain mastery over that energy and shape it into a devastating weapon. Once that was achieved, the damage a Pokemon could do would increase drastically, but it was a daunting mountain to climb.

There really was no shortcut to feeling the energy. Ash had tried to have Jasmine explain how she used dragon type energy to Pyro once, but found it was just so natural to her that she didn't really have any way of explaining how she did it, kind of like how Pyro couldn't explain how he could snort plumes of flame. He simply did it, and that was that.

Ash held a ridiculous hope that maybe, just maybe, Pyro would get a real grip on the energy they'd been seeking tonight. He could feel the air around Pyro trembling and it seemed like energy was starting to form up in a way that wasn't familiar to him-

"-Spectre," Ash sighed as he realized what was going on. He glanced at his hat suddenly floating in front of him and dryly noted the blue light barely glowing around it. The boy watched as his hat was lifted up a few inches by the Psychic before Spectre let it go to drop onto his trainer's head, appearing rather pleased with himself. Ash couldn't bring himself to be upset about it because Spectre looked like he had a much better feel for the move after that display. Psychic had been a bit of a gimmick when he'd bought it the night before, but perhaps it'd turn out to be more useful in the short run than he'd earlier assumed.

Spectre was currently using the move to levitate several chunks of rock in a ring around him. He didn't seem to have much trouble holding the move, although Ash noted a little strain in the ghost's eye when he tried to lift up another, larger piece of rubble from the dummy that Douse had been hurled into. There was definitely a limit to what Psychic could do, but Spectre wouldn't be using it as a primary method of attack- at least not in the immediate future. Maybe they would come up with something later, but it merely served as a way to scramble the enemy for now.

Ash adjusted his hat as Spectre turned his focus back to levitating stones. He scanned the last pair of training Pokemon and smiled with satisfaction when he saw Jasmine drive an Iron Tail into one of the targets with little trouble. Eevee gave a little chitter of encouragement and May was also cheering her on- Ash had no doubt that the Dratini would have it down before too long.

He heard a loud smack then and turned to find that Sobek had been sent sailing into the air. Ash winced as the Krookodile hit the ground rather harshly, but he rose back up with fury seething in his eyes. Douse almost looked apologetic.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

True to his word, Ash had May back at her cabin by nine o'clock. She had spent the majority of the training session cheering on Ash's team and now she appeared to be quite tired. He was offered thanks for tiring the little girl out and he wasn't surprised when May completely forgot about asking for a sleepover.

She really was exhausted.

Ash left Norman and Caroline to care for their daughter then and decided to turn in early to catch up on the sleep he'd missed the night prior. He didn't want to be tired for the quarter and semi-finals tomorrow. His team had done well with their training tonight and he was satisfied with what they'd accomplished.

Progress had been varied, as it usually was. Jasmine had excelled in learning Iron Tail with Eevee as her teacher and lots of cheering from May. It wasn't quite as potent as Eevee's Iron Tail was, but she had still demolished a few targets before the night was up. Spectre had also done well with Psychic and spent a little time practicing Ghost Flare as well- he was getting quite good with that particular combination.

Pyro had actually made a little headway with Dragon Rush- Ash had seen the faintest tinge of bluish-green energy begin to form around his head. It had been very brief and Pyro hardly even felt it, but the boy knew he had seen it. By no means was it close to being perfected, but it was the first real step to mastering the difficult technique they'd made since training with Cynthia's Garchomp.

The match between Sobek and Douse had also ended on a rather good note. Douse had made so much progress with controlling his strength instinctively that Ash had permitted them to use actual attacks during their last bout. The fight had been quick and fierce- Douse had first scored a Mega Punch and Sobek then countered the second one with Foul Play. Taking his own punch had dazed the Poliwrath for just a moment, allowing Sobek to throw in Assurance and pin him down. The dark type moves wouldn't normally do too much, but this was after they'd been fighting nonstop for over an hour and were fairly tired already. The good news was that Douse hadn't hammered Sobek with an uncontrolled blow when he used an actual attack. Ash considered that to be great progress.

He still didn't think that Douse was quite ready to fight in an actual match, but it wouldn't be too much longer, he surmised. Maybe by the time the finals came around…?

Ash shook his head. There was still another day before the finals and he had to make his way through two more battles to reach that point. He had to focus on that for now.

He made it back to his cabin and noted that Gary had yet to return. No doubt the other boy was still training with Blastoise to get his starter used to his new body. Ash released his team and watched as they each made their way to their usual spots. Pyro and Sobek piled up on the large cushions at the back of the wall and Douse went straight for the hot tub to float belly-up. Spectre floated over to his closet, while Eevee and Jasmine leapt onto the bed and snuggled up together. Ash cracked a smile at that. Even though they shared the bed with him, Gary, and Gary's Eevee, there was still tons of room, despite him and Gary putting up a pillow barrier halfway across the bed.

They were close friends, but they didn't want to be _that_ close.

The boy took a quick shower and changed into some comfortable pajamas, then he handed the fireproof blanket to Pyro and made for the bed. He switched the lights off quickly and flopped onto the comfortable mattress with a low groan. His whole body was seriously tired after all of the playing, battling, training, and strategizing he'd gone through just today. Ash was grateful that the bed was so comfortable.

"'Night, you guys," he mumbled just loud enough for his team to hear. Several grunts and others sounds of acknowledgement responded to him, then the young trainer gladly surrendered himself to the comfortable dark of sleep.

* * *

Ash blinked himself awake and frowned.

It was still pitch-black in the cabin, although he could hear Gary slightly snoring on the other side of the pillow barrier. That wouldn't have been enough to wake him up, though. Ash blearily lifted his head up, but paused when he felt something twitching by his feet.

He stared down the bed to find Eevee shivering. Her paws were twitching now and again and she whimpered faintly. Ash realized she was having a nightmare and quietly shifted so that he was sitting next to her.

His hand had barely touched the fur of her back when Eevee jolted awake with huge eyes and scrambled to her feet, staring around the dark room until Ash touched her again. That made her jump once more and she spun around to look at him, her fur fluffed up and her eyes wide in terror.

Ash offered her a gentle smile and his voice stayed low to help her relax. "Easy, girl. It's just me."

Eevee slowly realized where she was and let her fur lie flat, though she shakily collapsed onto her belly again. Ash ran his fingers through her soft coat and stroked her comfortingly as she recovered. "Are you okay?"

She chittered softly, averting her eyes. Ash continued to pet her until she settled down some more. "You had a bad dream, right?"

Eevee nodded, somewhat shamefully. She didn't like showing weakness. She'd been forced to grow up quickly in the Pokemon mill where she was born and the first difficult lesson she'd learned there was that weakness meant you couldn't survive. It was one of the reasons why she was always so frosty to anyone outside of their team, (and sometimes not even then) so that no one could take advantage of her. She had hard, titanium shields and a temperament as sharp and cold as ice when it was necessary. With Ash, she'd slowly been letting those barriers fall. But now, she'd slipped up too much.

"I won't tell anyone."

Her ears twitched at that. Ash had made a habit of surprising her, to the point that it didn't even come as a shock anymore. He was patient and kind and seemed to have a talent for understanding what she was thinking.

The boy scratched her behind her soft ears. "Do you want to tell me what it was about?"

Eevee hesitated. Knowing Ash, he would probably figure it out on his own. She was very good at hiding things, but not from him. Especially lately. Somehow, he could read her like a book and then some. And although she was very much so averse to revealing weakness to her trainer, she trusted him.

Slowly, she glanced up at Ash and her ears twitched towards him. He followed her gaze patiently as her eyes then trailed over to the flickering tail flame that belonged to Pyro, still snoring peacefully beside Sobek and Nidoqueen (who had apparently joined them after Gary returned) while his little growls hinted at dreams of battle and adventure. Eevee then dropped her gaze until she was looking at the light patch of fur on her chest and licked it once. Her big, brown eyes remained locked onto the bedsheets beneath her paws.

Just as she expected, Ash put it all together very quickly. "Falling off the cliff?"

She nodded, still avoiding her trainer's eyes. Ash hadn't stopped petting her fur. "Has this been going on for a while?"

Another nod. She heard Ash sigh a little and Eevee was afraid for just a moment that maybe she'd revealed too much. Maybe her nightmares were too much trouble for the boy. She would never have thought such a thing if she hadn't just woken from a terrifying nightmare, but she was already on edge and Eevee started to panic as she wondered if Ash wouldn't want her anymore-

She squeaked when she was gently scooped up into Ash's arms and held closely to his chest. Eevee froze as he cradled her there like one would cradle an infant, running his fingers through the soft fur of her tummy. Ash shifted until he was sitting cross-legged on the mattress and simply held her, tucked into his black t-shirt safe and sound. One of her ears was right next to his heart and she could hear its slow, steady beat. _Thump. Thump. Thump._ The sound calmed her.

"I've got you, girl," he whispered gently. Ash continued to stroke her fur slowly, lifting his hand a bit to scratch just beneath her chin. Much to her embarrassment, she purred on reflex. He chuckled a little, but didn't make fun of her for it. Ash simply calmed her until she felt like falling asleep again. "I've always got you."

Eevee managed an exhausted chitter. Ash smiled down at her and fell back onto the mattress carefully, then turned on his side. He shifted Eevee's small body so she was still tucked against his chest protectively. "Go back to sleep. I won't let you go. I promise."

Her only response was to try and snuggle closer to him, although he was pretty sure that was impossible now. Ash's legs tucked up a little as he curled around Eevee with his body, forming a living shield around her. He watched her, waiting until she fell back into a peaceful slumber before he considered sleeping himself. And even then, he waited, to ensure that she didn't have another nightmare.

Ash didn't know if she'd had such dreams before the terrifying fall at the cliffside, but he wouldn't be surprised if she did. Eevee had come from a horrible place that he thankfully didn't know the full details of. Sometimes he wished that he did know- if only to understand what she'd gone through and help her get through it. He would never _truly_ understand what had happened to her there, but every little bit made a difference.

He loved her and the rest of his team too much to not make an effort for every one of those little differences.

* * *

"Welcome to day two of the St. Anne Pokemon Tournament!" Angela exclaimed, looking just as peppy as she had the day before. The crowd cheered at her announcement and the young woman continued doing what she did best. "Today marks the battles of the quarter-finals and semi-finals! By the end of today's event, only two trainers will remain for tomorrow's final round!"

Ash leaned against the wall of the trainer waiting area on the side of the battlefield while Angela talked. It was a bit overcast today, so he was happy that there would be some shade, at least- although he doubted it would actually rain. The forecast had called for good weather all the way to Cinnabar, after all.

He shook those thoughts from his head and focused. These battles would determine who would fight who in the final round. They would determine if he had a chance at winning the tournament and the mystery Pokemon waiting at the top. He needed to concentrate.

Gary and Leaf were leaning on the railing just in front of him, chatting while Angela finished up her announcements. Leaf looked particularly excited this morning and Ash wasn't sure what had made her so lively, but his best guess was that maybe her Ivysaur had evolved. If that was true, then she'd just shot up a few notches in terms of difficulty.

It wouldn't matter. If it came down to a fight between him and Leaf, Ash was going to remind her of their first battle, when Pyro defeated Saur. Even if Saur was a Venusaur now, Pyro was a Charizard- he would torch any grass type that faced him.

Ash was certain of that.

He was jerked out of his thoughts as the first two trainers were called to the field and squared off against one another. Ash didn't immediately recognize them, but they were good enough to make it this far. He soon recognized one of them- the girl he'd seen the first day with the strange, violet-furred feline (which he'd found out from one of her battles yesterday was called a Liepard) and the blind reptilian Pokemon. She'd done quite well in the tournament preliminaries, as he remembered.

Angela stood in the referee's spot and began to announce the battle. "The quarter-finals will consist of double battles! If you remember from yesterday, that means two Pokemon per trainer and the match ends when both of one side's Pokemon are unable to continue! Now release your Pokemon!"

Ash watched as the first trainer- a young boy he didn't recognize- sent out a Koffing and a Beedrill. The pair looked exceptionally ordinary, but Ash didn't want to underestimate anyone this far into the tournament. The fodder had been cleared out. Those who remained were good.

The girl he remembered from the boarding day first sent out a Pokemon that he recognized as a Sneasel. It flashed its sharp claws and snickered at its opponents, although it looked somewhat uncomfortable in the hot sun. Her second Pokemon was a weird, gangly creature no taller than his knees. It had deep purple skin, sharp claws, and most odd of all, a pair of blue gems for eyes as well as a red gem on its chest. Ash had never seen one in person before, but he thought he recognized it from the Pokedex- a Sableye.

Sableye flashed a huge grin at its opponents, baring sharp fangs while it giggled a little crazily. Its trainer smirked only faintly as the pair of dark types eyed their opponents eagerly.

Angela slashed her hand down then. "Persephone versus Thomas! Begin!"

Ash watched as the two trainers got into it, eyes locked on the battle even as he tossed Pyro's pokeball up and caught it again every few seconds or so. There was a chance that he'd be fighting one of them in the semi-finals. That was, of course, after he burned through his quarter-final opponent. Pyro had been itching for a fight after last night's training.

And Ash had no qualms about setting the dragon loose to rampage for a bit.

* * *

The first match passed relatively quickly. Persephone had won- she had steamrolled Thomas with clever use of her speedy Sneasel and Sableye's rather sneaky combat style. Sneasel had practically been playing with Beedrill until its trainer finally ordered it to finish the job, and then it had blurred with speed greater than Ash had thought possible. Beedrill had dropped like a puppet that had had its strings cut after Sneasel's vicious Metal Claw did its job.

Sableye had won using Double Team to keep Koffing guessing, then hit the unfortunate poison type with Confuse Ray. As soon as the disoriented creature began to smack itself against the ground, Persephone had called for her Pokemon to use Psychic and Sableye settled the fight by lifting Koffing into the air, spinning it like a top, then slamming it into the field below. Ash had winced from the technique's impact, but he couldn't deny its effectiveness. He made a mental note to try that one with Spectre.

With the first battle out of the way, Persephone had claimed one of the top four spots. Now it was Ash's turn.

"The next match pits Ash against Katherine!" Angela declared. "Both trainers, please come to the battlefield!"

Ash did as instructed, clenching Pyro's pokeball in his hand as he made his way onto the field. He met his opponent's eyes and considered her. Katherine was a teenage probably of about fifteen or sixteen years of age. She had long, wavy blonde hair and pale skin. Her attire consisted of a rather short white skirt and a black tank top, as well as a hair clip to keep her bangs out of her eyes. Katherine's face was filled with confidence almost to the point of snobbishness, but Ash assumed it was confidence that was well-earned.

She had made it this far, after all.

Angela glanced between the two trainers. "Trainers, you know the rules- it's a double battle that will be concluded when both of one side's Pokemon are unable to fight on. Now release your Pokemon!"

Ash made the first move this time. He enlarged both Pyro's pokeball and Jasmine's Safari Ball at the same time in one hand each, then hurled the devices into the air to release the pair. Jasmine merely trilled as she appeared on the field, which was tame compared to Pyro- the Charizard stomped his feet, thrashed his tail, and spat a gout of flame into the air as he flexed his claws and wings. He let out a challenging roar and glared at Katherine, demanding her to release an opponent.

Katherine had just the slightest hesitance in her eyes for a moment, but she steeled herself quickly and set her own two Pokemon loose, which consisted of a Persian and an Absol. Ash recognized the latter by its telltale scythe, which sat like a horn on the right side of its skull. The weapon was razor-sharp and although Ash knew little of Absol compared to most other Pokemon, he knew enough to stay clear of the scythe.

Persian eyed them rather lazily as it lifted a paw to lick it and then rub its whiskers. Absol was standing at attention with its short ears perked and eyes sharp. It seemed particularly wary of Pyro, especially as the Charizard roared aggressively, but showed no fear.

Angela slashed her hand down. "Begin!"

"Flamethrower, both of you!" Ash commanded.

Pyro and Jasmine reared their heads back together, then let loose streams of orange fire, which roared across the field and merged halfway to their targets into a blistering torrent. Ash watched as the flames nearly reached his opponent's Pokemon in a matter of seconds, but the head of the linked Flamethrower exploded violently before it could make contact.

A plume of black smoke streamed out from where the attack had blown up, but it cleared as a blade of violet energy was launched towards Ash's Pokemon. He reacted quickly. "Metal Claw!"

Pyro's claws flashed metallic silver and he lunged forward to meet the blade, which exploded upon contacting the Charizard's own attack. Ash's eyes widened as Absol suddenly darted through the smoke, its scythe glowing the same color as the energy blade Pyro had just destroyed. It jerked its head and the scythe fired another one of the blades at Pyro point-blank.

The attack took Pyro in his chest and forced him back several feet, but he only snarled and charged again to drive Metal Claw into Absol's face. The dark type recoiled from the blow and growled, retreating with a quick leap to join Persian on its own side of the field. Persian seemingly hadn't done anything, but Ash wondered if it had been responsible stopping the initial Flamethrower attack. It certainly looked rather smug.

Katherine's face matched her Pokemon's as she gave her own orders. "Persian, use Power Gem on the Charizard. Absol, Swords Dance."

Persian lazily got up and the gem on its head sparkled for an instant before a red energy beam was fired at Pyro. Meanwhile, Absol took a position behind its teammate and closed its eyes, focusing power along the scythe on its head. If it was allowed to use Swords Dance, its power would increase a fair bit.

Ash wasn't about to willingly let that happen. "Pyro, stop Power Gem with Metal Claw! Jasmine, Agility! Get close to Absol!"

His Pokemon followed his orders instantly and without question. Pyro's claws, still silver from his first Metal Claw against Absol, came up and intercepted the energy beam Persian had fired. The Power Gem was mostly stopped by the steel type move, but parts of it flowed around Pyro's claws and struck him. Though the diffused beams were too weak to do real damage, they hurt enough to really irritate the Charizard. He roared angrily at Persian even as the feline's tail twitched with annoyance at its failure.

But in its irritation, Persian missed Jasmine blurring past it with a burst of speed, slithering to reach Absol on the other side of the field in a matter of seconds. Absol's eyes were still closed and Katherine seemed too surprised by Jasmine's sudden appearance to counter the Dratini's next attack. "Dragon Tail!"

Absol yowled as Jasmine's emerald tail slammed into the side of its head, jarring it out of Swords Dance. Ash smirked at the stunned look on the dark type's face as Jasmine retreated a ways, but Katherine wasn't so gullible. "Persian, get it! Night Slash!"

Persian lunged with incredible speed for such a lazy creature, its claws flashing black as it slashed at Jasmine. She barely evaded the first swipe, but was too close to the feline to avoid the second. She let out a pained cry as the claws ripped at her scales and sent her sprawling back to Ash's side of the field.

He clenched his fist. "Dragon Rush!"

Pyro roared as his irises narrowed into slits, then he blitzed Persian with a downward surge of his wings. The cat wasn't intimidated though and instead snarled back, hackles raised. "Thunderbolt!"

Persian's gem suddenly exploded with electricity just as its enemy drew in close. The bolt slammed into Pyro, causing him to bellow in pain and stop his charge cold. As the electricity stopped flowing, he lifted his head to glare furiously at the feline and released a stream of fire from his maw, bathing the field in flames.

Fortunately for Persian, Absol had by now gotten its act together and fired another blade of energy from its scythe to halt the Flamethrower before it could reach its target. Pyro snarled at the disruption, but then a red beam shot through the smoke like a bullet and struck his chest harshly. Persian had scored a clean hit with another Power Gem.

The Charizard roared with fury and pain as he fell to one knee. Ash felt a pang of worry- his friend was strong, but getting hit by two super effective attacks in a row had done a lot of damage. He had to get his team back into gear or else Katherine would win.

"Jasmine, help Pyro!" He ordered to the Dratini, who had just recovered from the blow she'd taken. She lifted her head up and glared at the pair of enemies as Ash barked his next command. "Dragon Rage!"

She darted back into the fight and released a burst of draconic energy, which made Persian and Absol leap back. Dragon Rage only smote the field and left a burn mark, but it had served its purpose of putting some distance between them and their opponents.

Pyro forced himself back to his feet, a growl rippling in his throat. Jasmine coiled up beside him and the pair stared at their enemy as Katherine put her hands on her hips, a confident smirk on her face. "Let's wrap this up. Persian, use Hyper Beam. Absol, Swords Dance- don't mess it up this time."

Ash's eyes widened as Persian opened its jaws wide and began to charge a sphere of orange energy while Absol fell back to enhance itself. It was a clever tactic. Persian had probably used Hyper Beam at the beginning of the fight to stop his dual Flamethrower. That would explain why it hadn't moved much at first. Hyper Beam needed so much energy that the user often had to pause a moment to recover.

He couldn't allow Katherine to succeed with this move. If Absol powered itself up, he would be at a huge disadvantage.

"Agility and Thunder Wave!" He shouted. "Stop Persian!"

Jasmine slipped into the enhancing move and bolted forward in a blur, getting near to Persian as it became dangerously close to charging up Hyper Beam. But before the feline could fire the deadly attack, Jasmine launched a thin burst of electricity from her horn, which danced over Persian's whole body and caused its muscles to cramp painfully.

The cat yowled and its Hyper Beam fizzled out before it was even fired. Though it glared at Jasmine balefully, she was the least of its problems.

"Brick Break!"

Righteous fury blazed in his eyes as Pyro flew at Persian and rammed his glowing fist into its skull, crushing its head against the ground with enough force to leave a small crater. Persian shrieked in pain and tried to stagger back to its feet, but received another, backhanded Brick Break to the jaw for its trouble. When it tried to rise yet _again_ , the furious Charizard bathed its whole body and the terrain around it in a Flamethrower. By the time the flames had finished razing their target, Persian's fur was covered in soot and the dirt had been scorched with burn marks for several meters.

Katherine recalled Persian, but she had a smirk on her face and Ash's teeth clenched as he saw the energy focused on Absol's horn flow over its body. The dark type glared calmly at its opponents, knowing that it was empowered.

Ash wasn't going to give it even a chance to rest now that it was alone. "Flamethrower again! Both of you!"

The dual Flamethrower ripped towards Absol, whose horn glowed violet at Katherine's command. "Psycho Cut!"

Absol slashed its head in a sideways motion and Ash watched in disbelief as the psychic blade sliced right through their Flamethrower. He shouted quickly to warn his Pokemon, giving Jasmine and Pyro the chance to scramble away from the overpowered attack as it flew past them and slammed into the psychic barrier protecting the spectators. Though they flared up for a moment, the barrier absorbed the blow without much trouble.

That didn't mean his team would take it quite as well. Ash glared at Absol with frustration. It was a menace now and he knew the only way they could beat it was if it were overwhelmed. Time to change tactics.

"Jasmine, flank it," he ordered slowly. "Pyro, get into the air! Blast it with Dragon Rage and Flamethrower until you see an opening! Don't give it a chance to rest!"

Jasmine used Agility on reflex and darted in a wide circle around Absol as she launched bursts of draconic energy. Pyro's powerful wings launched him into the air and with a roar, he began an aerial assault. Their attacks exploded violently where Absol had been standing, as it darted away and tried to pursue Jasmine. Fortunately, although it was powered up, she was faster than the dark type as long as she used Agility. Ash smiled nervously. He'd found a hole in Katherine's plan.

Absol's power up was useless if it couldn't hit his team.

She seemed to realize that too, if the frustrated look on her face said anything. Crossing her arms, Katherine snapped angrily. "Dark Pulse!"

The dark type Pokemon suddenly stopped and unleashed a stream of black energy rings from its maw, which it strafed over the field in an effort to hit Jasmine. She blurred away to avoid the attack while Pyro flew down as his open jaws roared with rippling orange fire.

Absol jerked its head up to direct the Dark Pulse right into the flames, generating another explosion in midair. While it was distracted, Ash seized his chance. "Dragon Tail!"

Jasmine immediately bolted into their enemy's blind spot and her attack slammed into the side of Absol's head harshly. Though it let out a howl of pain, it spun back around as its claws flashed an even deeper shade of black, and then the Night Slash was gouged into the dragon's scales.

Ash felt a flash of anger go through him as Jasmine wailed in pain. Absol slashed at her again as she tried to escape and it scored a glancing blow, which was enough to trip her up. As the Dratini collapsed and braced herself for the follow-up move that she knew she couldn't avoid, Pyro dove through the cloud of smoke in the air, his body wreathed in blue fire.

His starter banked low and broadsided Absol just as its claws flashed down to rend Jasmine one more time. The dark type didn't even see the furious, roaring dragon as he barreled into Absol's flank like an azure meteor with an unforgiving impact worthy of the name Flare Blitz.

Absol _shrieked_ when the infernal blue flames exploded violently, becoming Pyro's rage incarnate. It was a last resort that Ash hadn't wanted to use, but frankly it was their only chance at defeating Absol before it could do too much damage. Not only was it incredibly risky, but Pyro hadn't fully mastered the fire type move and the price he paid for using it put him out of action frequently, even in their training sessions.

Its usually pristine white fur was covered in burns as Absol was sent flying by the force and hit the dirt hard. The dark type tumbled roughly back to Katherine's side before it slid to a stop and collapsed, obviously unconscious. The girl's jaw had fallen open as she tried to comprehend that she'd lost.

Ash cringed when he saw Pyro fall to his hands and knees, too wounded to bring himself back to his feet. The explosion from using Flare Blitz didn't burn him, but it jarred his body to the point that he couldn't muster any strength for a while. Just a few feet away, Jasmine was dazed and barely conscious, but she struggled and managed to right herself.

That had been too close.

"After an intense and close battle, Charizard and Dratini pull through!" Angela declared excitedly. "Persian and Absol put up a good fight, but in the end, Ash is the winner!"

Ash sighed in relief. He looked across the field to offer a smile at Katherine, but she looked furious and after recalling Absol, stamped away. Well, not everyone could be made happy by having a good fight, he supposed. That fight had been even closer than the one he had against Rick the day before.

He recalled Pyro and Jasmine immediately and left the field to make for the healing station on the ship. As much as he wanted to stay and watch Gary and Leaf's battles, he also wanted to make sure that his Pokemon healed properly. Pyro really needed to rest after using Flare Blitz or he wouldn't be able to fight well tomorrow.

That was, of course, assuming that Ash made it through the semi-finals.

* * *

"They'll be just fine, Mr. Ketchum," assured the St. Anne's resident Nurse Joy. She offered him a smile as he gave her Pyro and Jasmine's pokeballs. "Now why don't you head back to the battlefield? The semi-finals will be coming along soon!"

He nodded. "Thanks. Please take care of them. My Charizard was really tired after using Flare Blitz."

"Yes, I know," Joy had an amused expression on her face when she saw Ash's look of surprise. She pointed to a television on the wall, which was currently broadcasting Gary's battle against another trainer. "I'll get Charizard _and_ Dratini back into fighting shape. You focus on your battle, okay?"

He managed to smile back. "I will. Thanks again."

Ash took off then. He wanted to at least catch Leaf's quarter-final match. By the looks of things on the television, Gary's Kadabra and Eevee weren't having a lot of trouble defeating his opponent.

* * *

"And just like that, Leaf claims victory!"

Ash blinked in surprise as he reached the trainer waiting area. In the ten minutes or so that it had taken for him to get to Nurse Joy and come back here, not only had Gary finished his battle, but it seemed that Leaf had done the same. She looked awfully confident, smiling fiercely as Talon shrieked his victory and Bomber sparked, seething as he always did. Leaf's opponent recalled a Butterfree and a Pelipper, looking a little mortified. Apparently, he hadn't expected to lose quite as easily as it seemed.

Talon and Bomber looked as if they hadn't gotten a scratch.

He felt a hand clap on his shoulder and turned to see Gary grinning. "She cleaned house! I almost feel bad for the guy! Fearow practically knocked out Butterfree in one hit and then Pelipper tried to use Water Gun on Voltorb. It got fried before it even knew what was happening."

Ash winced in sympathy for the bird. He was sure Pelipper would feel that tomorrow. Leaf's battling style was brutal.

"How was your fight?" Ash asked. "I saw bits and pieces of it on the TVs."

"Eh," Gary shrugged. "It wasn't all that special. Eevee kept our opponents busy while Kadabra powered up and bang! It was over. How's Charizard and Dratini?"

"They'll be fine," he assured. "They won't be able to fight in the semi-finals, but they should be ready for the finals tomorrow."

Gary smirked. "Assuming you make it that far."

"Don't forget that I've still got Sobek and the others," Ash challenged.

"And I've got Blastoise," his rival countered.

"And I've got a can of shut-your-mouth if you boys don't put a lid on it," Leaf snapped as she joined them. She set her hand against her hip and sighed, but she had a playful glimmer in her eye. "Honestly…you two are like a couple of kids fighting over a toy."

Ash smirked and Gary rolled his eyes, but before they could get into another round of banter, Angela was making announcements again. "We will now begin the semi-finals!"

That got their attention instantly. Ash glanced to his side at the three other trainers remaining.

Gary. Leaf. Persephone. Himself. Four trainers were left. One way or another, he'd won a prize. But Ash was going for the gold and he'd defeat them all if he had to.

Angela took a quick drink of water and began to announce again. "These matches will consist of three-on-three single battles and will conclude when all of one side's Pokemon are unable to continue! Here's the first matchup!"

She held up a tablet of some kind and pressed a button on the screen. After a few seconds, she looked up to announce the first pair of trainers.

"Gary and Leaf!"

"That's us," Leaf said, glancing to her friend and rival with a competitive grin on her face. "Ready to lose?"

"When you are!" Gary shot back.

Ash watched the pair as they walked onto the field. He glanced to the side at Persephone for a moment, trying to discern any kind of reaction. True to form, the teenager looked completely at ease. She had somehow retained that calm during this entire tournament, but she was skilled- he would not deny that. But he would be the one to defeat her.

And then he would have to defeat either Leaf or Gary.

His friends faced off on the battlefield, smiling at each other confidently. Angela glanced between them. "Remember, it's a three-on-three battle! The first move goes to Leaf! Now release your Pokemon!"

Leaf released Rose instantly. The Ponyta pawed the ground and whinnied, her mane flaring slightly. Ash wondered just how close she was to evolving. If Leaf was lucky, she could potentially evolve right here.

Gary grinned and set Machop loose in response. The little fighting type flexed his muscles for a brief moment and then crossed his arms, staring at Ponyta with an impassive look. He was one of Gary's more serious Pokemon, but was no less powerful for it.

"Leaf versus Gary!" Angela slashed her hand down. "Begin!"

"Flame Charge!" Leaf shouted, jumping straight into the fight.

Rose stamped the ground once and her body quickly became enveloped in flames, then she charged at Machop. Her hooves thudded against the field as she covered the distance with enhanced speed, a side effect of Flame Charge not unlike Agility.

Gary only grinned. "Low Sweep! Trip her up!"

Machop dropped to the ground instantly and made to kick at Rose's ankles as she drew near, but Leaf responded just as quickly. "Jump!"

Rose didn't miss a beat as her powerful hind legs propelled her into the air above Machop, who scowled when his target evaded him. He jumped back to his feet as Rose landed and whirled around, still blazing with fire. She lunged at the fighting type before he could completely turn and ran into him full-force.

The impact knocked Machop back several feet, where he landed on his back. Rose sped back to Leaf's side of the field as her cloak of flames disappeared and she awaited her trainer's orders. "Incinerate!"

Rose breathed out a narrow stream of flames, but Machop quickly rolled to the side and dodged. Although Rose shifted her head to direct Incinerate after her opponent, the fighting type managed to regain his footing and began to charge her while he ducked around the fire.

Leaf realized Machop wasn't going to be deterred and changed tactics. "Wait until it gets closer…"

Rose's ears flicked to acknowledge her trainer as Gary barked another order. "Cross Chop!"

Machop's tough arms crossed in an x-formation and glowed white as he lunged at Rose, but Leaf snapped a command at the absolute last moment. "Bounce!"

Machop blinked in surprise as his target suddenly leapt straight up into the air and he was unable to process the airborne Ponyta fast enough before she came down. Her hooves drove into his back and slammed him into the ground, crushing him in place. The fighting type let out a grunt of pain and used his superhuman strength to push himself back up even with Rose on his back.

Rose leapt off of Machop and spun back around as he struggled to his feet. "Incinerate!"

The fighting type held his arms up to defend himself against the stream of flames, but Leaf wasn't about to give him or Gary a chance to fight back. "Wild Charge!"

Ash's eyes widened in surprise as Rose's body flared with lightning, then she lunged at Machop with a surge of her powerful legs. Machop had just enough time to lower his arms before he blinked at the electrified Ponyta literally inches away from him.

Rose barreled into Machop like a bolt of lightning, sending the fighting type airborne from the violent impact. Machop hit the psychic barriers harshly and fell to the ground. Although he tried to rise, Rose blasted him with another Incinerate for good measure and that was that.

"Machop goes down!" Angela declared. "Leaf's Ponyta takes the first win!"

Leaf pumped her fist. "Yes! How's that, Gary?"

Gary recalled Machop with a grin on his face. "Not bad, but that was just a warm-up. Here's the real challenge!"

His second Pokemon was Nidoqueen. The massive poison type stared at her opponent calmly, grunting as she prepared herself for battle. Rose was tired, especially after the recoil sustained by using Wild Charge, but she still had plenty of fight left in her.

"Begin!"

"Agility!" Leaf ordered. "Circle it!"

Rose whinnied and slipped into the enhancing technique immediately. She began to gallop around Nidoqueen, causing the larger creature to follow her opponent with wary eyes. Rose was a lot faster than Nidoqueen even if she didn't match up to her for sheer power, so Ash bet that Leaf was trying to tire out Gary's powerhouse instead of defeat her head-on.

Gary, however, knew that game well. "Toxic Spikes!"

Nidoqueen suddenly dropped to all fours and the large spines on her back glowed violet. Before Ash could blink, the spines launched a mass of venomous barbs flying across the field. They landed at random around Nidoqueen and it was just a moment later that Rose accidentally stepped on one.

The Ponyta let out a cry of pain and came to a sudden stop, cringing at the barb lodged in between her hooves as it pumped debilitating venom into her body. Leaf paled and opened her mouth to give Rose an order, but Gary saw a chance and he was going for it like a shark in bloody waters. "Sludge Bomb!"

Nidoqueen rose back up on her hind legs and then spat a glob of toxic goo at Rose, which struck her cleanly while she was cringing in pain. The Ponyta whinnied in distress and staggered, but another Sludge Bomb knocked her over onto her side and this time she did not rise.

"Just like that, Gary has turned the match around!" Angela exclaimed. "Ponyta is unable to continue!"

Leaf recalled Rose with a frown on her face. On the sidelines, Ash was chewing his lip as he considered the move she was up against. Toxic Spikes had the chance of poisoning anything that was unfortunate enough to step on the barbs littering the field, with the exception of steel types and other poison type Pokemon. They were immune to venoms like that and wouldn't be affected, although the barbs could be annoying in the right setting. A tricky move, indeed.

Talon came out second as Leaf released him straight into the air. The Fearow had already battled once today, but he'd taken practically no damage and seemed plenty eager to fight again. He glared down at Nidoqueen imperiously and let out a threatening squawk, but she was unperturbed.

"The field is covered in Toxic Spikes," Leaf warned her Pokemon. "Don't land unless you have to and watch your feet."

Talon shrieked understanding and then the battle began again.

"Ice Beam!" Gary snapped. Nidoqueen opened her mouth and charged up a sphere of icy energy, then fired the beam in arcing rays at the airborne Fearow. Talon evaded the ice type move with ease by quickly banking and let out a displeased shriek at his enemy.

Leaf grinned and began her assault anew. "Agility! Confuse it!"

Up until now, Ash hadn't really had a chance to appreciate the speed of an aerial opponent. He'd faced a fair few, but none of them demonstrated the speed that Talon did now. Fearow weren't known for being incredibly fast, but it seemed that Leaf's was an exception to that rule.

Talon was barely visible as he danced through the air, blurring over Nidoqueen's head as she struggled to follow her opponent. Gary even looked a bit uncertain until Leaf snapped another command. "Drill Run!"

Suddenly, Talon's whole body was spinning and then he dove at Nidoqueen's left flank before she could respond. The impact sent her sprawling with a bellow of pain, but she couldn't strike back as the Fearow retreated back into the skies before she knew it.

Gary was obviously annoyed by that. "Ice Beam!"

Nidoqueen righted herself and blasted the air with freezing rays, but Talon dodged them with mocking ease. He screeched loudly, sounding rather triumphant despite the fact that the battle was still going on. Leaf ordered another Drill Run and he blurred away for a moment before lunging at Nidoqueen in a corkscrew, this time from the right.

"Protect!"

The next moment there was a loud crash and Talon shrieked in pain, having slammed full-force into the barrier. His beak looked slightly blunted and he crash landed violently, tumbling for several meters over the field and picking up a few of the Toxic Spikes as he did so.

Gary made to finish it right then. "Ice Beam!"

"Mirror Move!" Leaf shouted in desperation.

Talon just managed to get to his feet and created a small, silver shield in front of him. The shield absorbed Ice Beam in a flash and before Gary could even process what had happened, Nidoqueen's Ice Beam was fired right back at her.

Nidoqueen roared as her own attack struck her, sending freezing shocks of pain through her body as Talon struggled to recover himself. His body was being pumped with venom from the Toxic Spikes and the devastating impact of his crash landing. Fortunately, it seemed that he'd managed to avoid breaking one of his wings, but his long beak was blunted and it was obviously causing him pain.

Leaf bit her lip while Gary clenched his fist. Neither trainer wanted this particular round to last much longer, it seemed.

"Get back into the air!" Leaf ordered.

Talon let out a low squawk and managed to flap his wings enough to get airborne, though it was obviously a struggle. Nidoqueen glared at the bird just as her trainer did. "Ice Beam!"

"Mirror Move!"

Talon generated the silver shield again and the Ice Beam that would have struck its mark was reflected back again. Gary was ready for it this time, though. "Protect!"

Nidoqueen lifted her arms up to generate the emerald shield, which absorbed her reflected attack with ease. In the air, Talon banked and dove towards her again at Leaf's command. "Aerial Ace!"

The Fearow disappeared with a blur of speed and Gary countered as quickly as possible when Nidoqueen's Protect vanished. "Ice Beam!"

There was a flash of icy energy, a tremendous impact, and then both Talon and Nidoqueen were on the ground in a cloud of debris. The field was silent for a few seconds until Nidoqueen grunted and forced herself to her feet. She was dazed and hurt, but not defeated. Talon, on the other hand, had one of his wings frozen from the surprise Ice Beam and had been knocked out. He just wasn't built to take as much punishment as Nidoqueen was- she was a walking set of armor. Talon was much more fragile.

"Fearow is unable to battle! Nidoqueen wins!" Angela announced. "Leaf is down to her last Pokemon!"

Ash let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Watching his best friends fight was almost as intense as himself fighting. That had been a very close fight even if Nidoqueen had pulled through in the end. Talon had played his part well- he'd left the mighty poison type weakened and on her last legs. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't impressed by the Fearow's power. Few of their kind were capable of bringing down something like a Nidoqueen, but he'd nearly done so single-handedly. Now Leaf just had to finish her off and defeat Gary's last Pokemon.

Gary's mouth quirked up in a brief smile. "That was pretty close."

"Yeah," Leaf took a deep breath as she recalled Talon. As she let it go, her own lips curved into a large, untamable grin. "Here's my last one! Don't disappoint me!"

She enlarged her third pokeball and hurled it onto the field. It's contents were released in a flash of white light-

Ash couldn't help but grin at the Pokemon his eyes locked onto. Saur.

Leaf's starter had indeed reached his final stage. The Venusaur on the field was absolutely _massive_. Despite being younger, he was almost as big as Erika's Venusaur. The light red flower on his back was now in full bloom, with long green fronds splaying out from its base. His once small body, now much bigger and stockier, was covered in tough forest scales. The Toxic Spikes at his feet did nothing more than annoy him with their sharp points, and even then he used the short, blunt claws on his toes to crush them. With his poison typing, the venom in the spikes would be reduced to harmless proteins even if they somehow managed to pierce his thick skin.

Saur's large eyes focused on Nidoqueen and his mouth opened to release a loud, low bellow. Nidoqueen grunted a response and faced her opponent, weary, but willing to keep on going.

Gary didn't look worried, but he still seemed wary of the enormous grass type. Apparently, Saur was bigger than he'd anticipated. The Venusaur probably weighed even more than Blastoise for his sheer bulk. "Ice Beam!"

Nidoqueen fired the ice type move immediately and to Ash and probably Gary's surprise, Saur didn't even try to dodge. He braced himself and withstood the attack with a growl, shaking the pain off to glare at his foe. Leaf took advantage of Gary's dumbfounded expression to strike back. "Power Whip!"

Two thick, glowing green vines suddenly shot from the base of the plant on Saur's back and rocketed towards Nidoqueen like a pair of bullets even as her arms came up to use Protect. Although Power Whip bounced off of the shield, Saur continued to hammer Protect with his vines until it finally gave way.

Nidoqueen grunted in pain and lifted her arms to guard her head from the powerful vines, which whipped at her body harshly. Before she knew what was happening, they suddenly curled around her arms to pin her in place. Too late, Nidoqueen realized the danger and opened her mouth to fire another Ice Beam, but then Saur bellowed and reared up onto his short hind legs. The force behind it allowed him to get extra pull on the vines, which then lifted Nidoqueen into the air and slammed her back down with devastating force.

Even Gary winced when the dust cleared and showed that the ground beneath Nidoqueen had been cratered by the impact. He recalled her quickly and considered Saur with a frown on his face.

"Turnaround! Venusaur claims victory against Nidoqueen! Now, we await Gary's last Pokemon!"

Gary's frown cleared a second later and he grinned widely. "Sorry, Leaf! I'm winning this one!"

Leaf smirked right back. "Bring it on!"

Gary twirled his last pokeball on his finger for just a moment then flicked it up to grab it, enlarged the device, and hurled it into the air.

The last Pokemon Gary had chosen to fight with was Pidgeot. The massive bird shrieked upon seeing Saur, who bellowed in response. Ash really had no idea what to expect here. Pidgeot had the type advantage, yes, but if Saur got a hold of her with enough of his vines, it was over. He would pound her against the ground like a toy into submission.

"Agility!" Gary called up to Pidgeot. "Double Team. Get it on the defensive!"

Pidgeot shrieked and set about completing her trainer's orders. She slipped into Agility with even greater speed than Talon and then produced a dozen illusory clones to further confuse Saur. The Venusaur's large eyes glanced up warily as the clones began to blur around in the air and crossed paths with every second, making it impossible to track any of them.

Leaf seemed unperturbed. "Multi Vine Whip! Mow them down!"

Saur bellowed and then over ten thin vines burst from the base of the plant on his back and shot up into the air. His massive frame began to sway as he swung them around in a clockwise formation, whipping the vines to strike to wipe out the clones. Ash watched as two of the illusionary Pidgeot were dispersed by the attack, but Gary put a stop to that quickly.

"Wing Attack!"

The wings of every clone began to glow and then they were darting at the vines. Two more copies were eliminated, but while Saur was busy trying to find the real one, Ash caught a glimpse of a blur that dove in amongst the illusions and slashed clean through several the vines with incredible speed. The severed pieces fell to the ground and wriggled on the field, though they ceased to move shortly.

Saur bellowed and recalled his vines. It wasn't like that actually hurt or caused a lot of discomfort (the vines would grow back fairly quickly) but the sudden loss had obviously startled him and if Pidgeot kept that up, he wouldn't even be able to reach her way up there.

"Air Slash!" Gary followed up.

Leaf frowned. "Razor Leaf!"

Sharp blades of wind were launched at Saur from above as the Venusaur tensed the fronds atop his back and fired several sharp leaves from them. Ash wasn't surprised when the Air Slashes cut right through Razor Leaf, though they served to dampen the damage a little. Saur was struck cleanly by the attack and roared in pain, but he still refused to go down.

Ash had no idea what Leaf was thinking. Venusaur were tough, but they weren't what most would consider tanks. They couldn't just take blow after blow and shrug them off like it was nothing. They had a strong hide, but no armor. If Saur continued to take attacks like that, he was going to lose. Pidgeot hadn't even gotten a scratch so far. Surely she hadn't gotten caught up in Saur's newfound power and lost her sense of caution or-

Ah.

He mentally smacked himself for not realizing sooner. Of course Saur wasn't dodging- if he'd evolved just last night- which he must have because Ash had seen Leaf's Ivysaur at dinner- then there was no way he was used to his new body yet. The massive weight he now had to carry was no doubt slowing him down to the point that dodging was virtually impossible. Saur couldn't dodge any attacks right now. He could only strike back and hope that his brutal fighting style would defeat whatever he went up against.

Ash crossed his arms. If that was the case, then Pyro could probably obliterate Saur in a matter of seconds. Actually, even Sobek would likely be able to finish the behemoth grass type off without much trouble. All he'd have to do would be to go underground and trap Saur with Ant Lion.

The way he was now, Saur was a glass cannon. He had no choice but to hammer his foes and hope that was enough without any way to defend himself.

Gary apparently picked up on that as well. He had been silent for a few seconds while Pidgeot continued to bombard Saur with Air Slashes and the Venusaur attempted to defend himself with Razor Leaves and Vine Whips at his trainer's command. Obviously, the boy was cooking up a plan in his head.

Leaf however looked desperate. Pidgeot was literally the worst possible opponent for Saur in his current state and she was at her wits' end trying to find a way to counter it. "Petal Blizzard!"

Saur bellowed and the flower on his back suddenly glowed bright pink, then a flurry of sharp flower petals were launched upwards in a massive tornado. It managed to distract Pidgeot to the point that she stopped using Air Slash in an effort to evade the attack. Petal Blizzard also managed to wipe out the remaining clones from Double Team, but it wouldn't be useful here as an actual damaging attack- the move's potency grew lesser the higher up it went and Ash doubted that Saur would be able to hold it for very long. Leaf was clearly wracking her mind furiously with the few seconds she'd bought herself.

But Gary had finished making his strategy to finish off the behemoth. "Gust!"

Pidgeot's shrieked and began to flap her wings rapidly, creating a tornado of howling wind which rent Petal Blizzard asunder and trapped Saur in the eye of the vortex. The Venusaur bellowed angrily. Gust wouldn't do a lot of damage, but it further immobilized him and would keep him in place as Gary made to finish him off.

"Sky Attack!"

Ash's eyes widened in surprise as Pidgeot's body began to glow, coalescing golden energy around her body. Sky Attack was an incredibly advanced flying type move that boasted great power, but it took a long time to prepare it. Gary was gunning for a one-hit KO before Saur could get lucky. It would be delayed even further since Pidgeot was using Gust to keep Saur trapped as well.

Leaf realized that there would be no way for her starter to avoid the coming assault and gave her own final command. "Solar Beam!"

Saur grunted and Ash watched as particles of light began to gather in the flower on his back. He clenched his fists as his pulse began to race. This was it- whichever move made contact would decide the winner of the match.

The tension in and around the battlefield was almost tangible as the sources of light belonging to Pidgeot and Saur built up until they were almost blinding. The crowd had gone silent and was holding their breath as the seconds stretched into an eternity. Just as Ash felt it would never end, Saur let out an earth-shaking roar and fired a blinding flare of white energy that forced him to throw his arm over his eyes. The Solar Beam tore through the air like a laser, tearing apart Pidgeot's Gust and shooting straight for the bird.

Ash watched with bated breath as Pidgeot gave up on Gust and banked down instead as she finished charging Sky Attack. Solar Beam grazed the feathered crest atop her head, but then she was blazing towards the field as an arrow of golden light, letting out a terrifying screech. She danced around the Solar Beam with that same incredible speed and Saur roared a second before the bullet that was Pidgeot ripped into him from above.

The Venusaur was crushed as Pidgeot's Sky Attack drove into the top of his left shoulder, dealing terrible damage while also crippling him. His leg lost all of its strength and he collapsed onto his side with an agonized bellow. Pidgeot's enormous talons gripped the back of his neck and one of his plant fronds to keep her balance as she shook herself with a shriek, quickly recovering from the impact. She used her huge claws to shove the Venusaur's face into the dirt and screeched threateningly, daring her opponent to rise again.

Leaf had seen enough. She immediately recalled Saur and spun around, not even waiting for Angela to call the match before she was hurriedly striding away. Pidgeot managed to land safely in the absence of Saur's body and glanced at her trainer with a proud shriek. Gary nodded to her as the massive bird began to preen at her feathers, but his eyes followed Leaf until she was gone.

Ash didn't think she was actually all that upset, but he did think she wanted to get Saur checked out. Pidgeot's Sky Attack had been a devastating blow that had the potential for severe muscle damage following the Venusaur's recent evolution. He felt bad for her, but it had happened and life would go on. As it always did.

Now it was his turn to fight.

Gary walked over to the waiting area as Ash prepared himself for the last battle of the day. His rival smirked at him and casually thumped his shoulder with one hand. "Don't go and lose on me, Ashy boy. I'm expecting to see you on the other side of the battlefield tomorrow."

"I'll be there," he assured his rival. Ash let a smirk of his own fall onto his face. Oh, he was going to be there. But first thing was first- he had to put Persephone out of action.

He made his way onto the field as Angela announced his and Persephone's names as the last trainers to compete in the semi-finals. Ash ran what he knew about Persephone through his head as they locked eyes, neither showing a hint of what they were thinking.

She seemed to be fond of dark types. Unfortunately, the only Pokemon he had that would be effective at countering them based on typing (Douse) was still trying to master his own strength. Ash only wanted to use Douse here as a last resort. Since Persephone relied on dark types, he'd already forgone the thought of putting Spectre into this fight. The little ghost was good, but he had no way to fight them off. His lineup for this fight was going to be Sobek, Eevee, and Douse. The idea was that Sobek would defeat their first opponent, get a Moxie boost, and then either defeat the second opponent or seriously hurt them. Eevee would come in to finish off the third opponent and Douse would be on standby in case she was somehow defeated.

"This will be a three on three match, just like the last one!" Angela exclaimed. "Persephone gets the first move! Trainers, release your Pokemon!"

Persephone released the little reptile that Ash had seen following her a few days ago. It pawed at the ground with small claws, but let out a surprisingly aggressive growl.

His lips curled up in a fierce smile. Sobek was about to run riot.

The massive croc burst onto the field with a titanic roar and instantly locked his eyes onto his prey. Surprisingly, the much smaller reptile only growled back. It was probably a good thing that it couldn't see very well, otherwise it might be more intimidated by the Krookodile glaring at it.

To his surprise, Persephone's eyes gleamed and a small smile found its way onto her face. "A dark type? You've got good taste, at least."

He wasn't sure what to make of that. Ash just assumed that she was particularly fond of dark types. Regardless, he took the compliment as the battle got underway.

"Persephone versus Ash! Begin!"

"Your opponent is directly in front of you," Persephone said quietly, but quickly. "Dragon Breath."

The small creature opened its mouth to fire a stream of thick, emerald wind at its opponent. Although Ash was surprised by the use of the dragon type move, Sobek merely snarled a challenge and they met it with their own long-range attack. "Incinerate!"

Sobek released the relatively small burst of flame in the form of a fireball rather than the usual stream. They'd been playing with the idea of concentrating Incinerate as much as they could in their training sessions- it wasn't a very powerful fire type move, but if it was focused into one spot, it had the potential to do more damage.

Incinerate's fireball collided with Dragon Breath and generated a small explosion halfway across the field. Ash wasn't all that surprised that they had just cancelled each other out- special attacks weren't really Sobek's forte, anyways. Now if he got his _teeth_ into something, that was another matter entirely, but for the time being, they hadn't trained in special attacks enough for Sobek do a lot with them. That was for another time.

For now, his attention was taken by Persephone's next command. "Dragon Rush!"

Now _that_ was a surprise. Even more so considering that the small Pokemon actually seemed to know what it was doing- greenish blue energy had coalesced around its body as it charged across the field, growling ferociously. It wasn't actually all that fast, but Ash still didn't want to chance Sobek being hit by Dragon Rush. Even coming from something as small as this, he'd seen what an experienced user of the move could do with it.

He wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of being on the receiving end of that attack.

"Stone Edge!" He ordered.

Sobek roared and slammed one of his clawed fists into the dirt, causing blades of stone to punch out of the field in a straight line towards the charging reptile. It let out an angry shriek as Stone Edge struck it in the stomach and sent it airborne, but although it hit the ground rather roughly, it got back onto its feet without much trouble.

Surprised by the lack of effect, Sobek actually tilted his head to the side a little and Ash raised an eyebrow. Although he doubted that it was all that durable, this little creature had just taken a direct hit Stone Edge and seemed to just shrug off the damage. What even?

"Hey," he called across the field to get his opponent's attention. "If you don't mind my asking, what kind of Pokemon is that?"

Persephone smiled just the slightest. "A Deino. They're dark types from the Unova region and if you haven't guessed yet, they also possess dragon type attributes."

Deino. Ash considered the small reptile with interest as it growled ferociously despite being unable to see Sobek all that well. He'd never heard of a dragon and dark type Pokemon before, but it was something worth looking into. Maybe one of these little creatures was even the tournament prize- it was from Unova, after all. Ash wondered if it evolved…

He shook those thoughts from his head. He'd look into it later. For now…

"It's interesting, but I'm still going to win," he called to Persephone. Sobek let out a low hiss and Deino locked onto the sound instantly, growling even more ferociously.

The girl's smile became confident. "We shall see. Hyper Voice!"

Ash threw his hands over his ears as Deino _screamed_. The sound set his hairs on end and Sobek started to shake his head, roaring in pain. The croc tried to overwhelm Deino's incredible vocal chords with his own bellow, but Hyper Voice was just too high-pitched for him to drown out. There was no way Sobek would be able to hear a command from Ash like this. Even the crowd had their hands on their ears and the psychic barriers should have been keeping Hyper Voice's influence from reaching them.

Desperate for a way to communicate with his friend, Ash stamped his foot against the dirt several times and prayed that Sobek would be able to feel it with his sensitivity to vibrations. To his relief, the Krookodile glanced back at him immediately and Ash reluctantly removed one of the hands from his ears. He punched towards the ground and Sobek understood instantly.

Deino's Hyper Voice was cut short as a Stone Edge smashed into its small body, causing it to squeal in pain. It snarled angrily a second later, but Sobek was pissed off after being on the receiving end of the bone-jarring sound waves.

"Sobek, let's end this!" Ash shouted, even though his voice seemed muffled now. "Ant Lion!"

With a flash of his claws, Sobek plowed his way into the dirt and vanished for a few seconds. Persephone's eyes widened fractionally as she gave Deino her own command. "When you feel it coming, use Body Slam!"

The little dragon growled an affirmative and Ash had to admit he was jealous of the creature and its trainer for somehow coming out of Hyper Voice with their hearing intact. But unfortunately for Persephone, she seemed to have the wrong idea- she must have been assuming that Sobek was about to use a regular Dig or some variation of it.

Ash relished the surprise on her face when the ground beneath Deino's feet turned into sand. The little creature wasn't all that heavy, so it didn't sink very quickly, but its stubby little legs trapped in Sand Tomb would definitely restrict its mobility. Now that it was trapped, the end was near.

Sobek erupted from the pool of sand with his mouth agape, roaring in fury. His jaws clamped down onto Deino's small body and he began to shake it from side to side violently. Deino screeched not in pain, but rage as it was shaken like a rag doll. It even turned its head to blast Sobek's face with Dragon Breath.

It pissed off the Krookodile even further. Ash yelled for him to finish the irritating dark type off. "Thunder Fang!"

Electricity surged in Sobek's maw as he began to electrocute Deino whilst also crushing it with his mighty fangs. The sharp teeth were digging into the dragon's scaly hide without much difficulty, but _still_ Deino struggled on and continued to blast Sobek with Dragon Breath. Ash couldn't believe how much stamina it had, but after nearly thirty seconds of being savaged in Sobek's electrified jaws, Deino finally went limp.

He clenched his fist. No wonder Deino hadn't shown any sign of being hurt earlier- it had practically no sense of self-preservation. It just fought on and on until it dropped.

Sobek spat the stubborn dragon out with a furious hiss. He was so annoyed that he almost missed the feeling of Moxie surging through his body. His face was covered in mild burns from being struck by Dragon Breath at such close range, but he was otherwise unharmed. Well, Ash didn't doubt that his ears were killing him as well. His were still ringing after Deino's Hyper Voice.

"And Deino goes down," Angela announced, wincing at the sound of her own mic. "Ow, my ears…"

Persephone recalled Deino without so much as a frown and simply took out her next pokeball. She tapped the release and set loose the violet-furred feline Ash had seen when he'd first boarded the St. Anne- a Liepard. Ash didn't know much about this species either. Liepard had fought in Persephone's double battle the day before, where it had shown impressive speed and a penchant for defeating foes with quick swipes of its claws, but that was all he knew about it.

He glanced at Sobek, who was still waist-deep in his own Sand Tomb. The Krookodile looked plenty willing to fight on and Ash grinned as he caught the red gleam of Moxie in the croc's eyes.

Sobek had plenty of gas left in the tank.

"Rogue, please use caution," Persephone urged. The Liepard's tail twitched just slightly in response before its trainer began to give commands. "Slash!"

The Liepard's elegant frame took a single, smooth step forward, then it was off- blurring towards Sobek with incredible speed. Rogue covered the distance between itself and its prey in barely three seconds as its claws flashed brightly. Sobek snarled at Liepard when it leapt into the air above the sand and slashed down at him.

"Foul Play!" Ash countered.

Sobek's claws turned jet-black as he struck back at Rogue. Foul Play met Slash and Sobek's greater strength quickly overwhelmed the feline, repelling it away. Rogue yowled in surprise, but flipped and landed with astounding ease. Its whiskers twitched, observing Sobek carefully as he roared after the cat.

"Stone Edge!"

Sobek smashed his fist into the dirt and triggered another line of stone blades, which jutted out of the field at Rogue. The Liepard leapt away with fluid ease to evade the attack and immediately followed her trainer's next command. "Shadow Ball."

Rogue concentrated the shadowy energy into a sphere and launched it a moment before Ash gave his own order. "Sobek, use Dig!"

The Krookodile dove underground immediately, and not a moment too soon as Shadow Ball exploded violently upon hitting the sand where he'd been a second earlier. Rogue eyed the ground warily, obviously aware of the danger. It was on full alert and jumped just as Sobek burst from the dirt beneath it.

Sobek's sharp claws slashed through empty air, causing him to snarl angrily. Rogue landed several feet away and Persephone quickly gave it a command. "Attract!"

Now wasn't _that_ a vexing move.

Rogue crouched and generated a pink sphere of energy which slightly resembled a heart, which it then fired with surprising speed. Sobek had just turned to face the cat when Attract made contact with him and spread over his body.

Attract was a weird technique. It worked by striking an enemy Pokemon with unique energy that caused their body to release a huge surge of hormones. They stimulated a Pokemon's natural drive to seek a member of the opposite sex by increasing the rate at which the aforementioned chemicals were produced in their bodies. In theory, it scrambled the urge to mate with battle instincts to the point of confusion, leaving the enemy helpless to whatever the opponent put them through.

However, it wasn't _quite_ that simple. Attract had a few major drawbacks- for one, it was very situational. A female Pokemon could only use Attract effectively on a male and vice versa. There were rumors of Pokemon so talented with the move that gender didn't matter, but that was the general rule with Attract when it came to the majority of novice users.

Secondly, Attract only worked if the Pokemon using it was compatible with the opponent. That meant they had to be capable of breeding together. Pokemon had incredibly adaptable bodies that allowed them to reproduce with different species similar to their own- Fearow and Skarmory for instance. They might have few similarities at first glance, but they were similar enough to have compatible reproductive systems, meaning they _could_ rear fertile offspring.

It was a little known fact by most people that caused Attract to be considered either a hit or a miss. If you knew your way around Pokemon breeding theory, you could use Attract sometimes to great effect. If you didn't, well…things could get rather messy.

This was one of the latter cases. Ash didn't claim to know a lot about breeding, but if there was one thing he knew, it was that Liepard and Krookodile _were not compatible_. And when Attract hit a target that wasn't compatible with the user, it triggered a rush of the wrong kind of hormones going through the Pokemon's body. Ash watched, eyes wide as his Pokemon grew very, _very_ still. The crowd watched in silent anticipation.

Rogue looked a little confused by her opponent's lack of a reaction. Persephone appeared to be equally puzzled. Four seconds. Five.

Ash practically heard the sound of Sobek blowing a fuse.

Rogue shrieked as a massive blade of stone punched into her stomach and sent her flying. She hadn't even reached her peak before the Krookodile _roared_ , his fury enough to shake the air. His red eyes were bloodshot and he was practically frothing at the mouth. Attract had backfired in the worst way and the hormones burning through his body had only served to enrage Sobek further.

He silently apologized to Persephone for what was about to happen.

Sobek lunged at the Liepard, who was still falling in her stunned daze, and barreled into her. She yowled as the manic croc pinned her to the ground and then shrieked when Sobek's fangs gnashed into the scruff of her neck. Guttural snarls filled the air as the Krookodile shook her ruthlessly and generated a surge of flames in his maw. His huge claws ripped at Rogue's fur and tore into her skin deeply enough to draw blood, savaging her further.

Ash grimaced. It was brutal to watch, but there was no stopping Sobek now. He would go on until his prey, the prey which had the _audacity_ to _infuriate_ him to this degree, had paid the price for its arrogance. But just in case, he got Sobek's pokeball ready- if he tried to take this past the point of no return, Ash was recalling him whether he liked it or not.

Persephone's face was bone white. She recalled Rogue just a few seconds into the ruthless beating, unable to watch her Pokemon go through such an ordeal. Sobek caterwauled at her in fury, but he wasn't so angry that he would attack his prey's trainer. The little reason that still remained was enough to hold him back.

The crowd had gotten very quiet and some of them looked frightened. Ash didn't blame them- an angry Sobek savaging his prey was not what he would consider an entertaining sight.

"W-well it seems that Liepard is unable to continue," Angela said in a small voice. She avoided looking at Sobek, who was stomping over back to Ash's side with a low hiss rippling from his throat, and instead glanced at Persephone. "We now await Persephone's final Pokemon."

"I…" Persephone's eyes flashed warily as Sobek fixed upon her a challenging, angry glare. She took a step back. "No. I'm sorry, but I forfeit."

He wasn't even surprised. Angela didn't seem to be, either.

"Then the match is concluded," Angela announced. "Ash wins thanks to his powerful Krookodile! The semi-finals are now over! Tomorrow, the finale of the tournament will get underway!"

Ash breathed out a sigh as he recalled Sobek and left the field. That wasn't exactly how he'd wanted this match to go, but Liepard had gambled and lost. Apparently, Persephone wasn't aware of the risk Attract carried with it.

He felt like he owed her an apology.

* * *

He managed to catch Persephone at the healing station. She had obviously hurried to drop off Deino and Liepard, who had taken quite a beating against Sobek. Ash called to her after she gave her pokeballs to Nurse Joy and the teenager met his eyes warily.

"Yes?"

Ash scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. "I'm sorry about what happened out there. Sobek can get pretty aggressive, but that was pushing it. He usually isn't that bad."

"I'll consider your apology once Rogue recovers," she replied stiffly. He winced at the bitter tone, but didn't blame her for it. As she walked past him, Ash gave her pause one more time.

"You know Attract was what made Sobek act like that, right?"

Persephone turned around with an eyebrow raised. "Attract couldn't have been the cause. It makes the target enamored, not aggressive."

Ash sighed. "It's not that simple. Let me explain…"

He spent the next five minutes telling her everything he knew about the move and for once, he was grateful that he'd paid at least a little attention to his mother's ramblings about Pokemon breeding. Even his own limited knowledge turned out to be a huge help, but it should have been common information. If every trainer knew the details regarding Attract, it would probably save a few Pokemon from some very unfavorable circumstances.

Being savaged by a Krookodile, for one.

Persephone listened to him, growing more interested as he explained the mechanics behind the move that had sealed her Liepard's fate. Most of the upset had left her expression, instead turning to attentiveness and curiosity.

When Ash finished talking, she took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. "Well, that would have been helpful information to know in advance. I never thought that…"

"Think of it like this," Ash tried an attempt at humor that he hoped wasn't cringeworthy. "Do you think Liepard and Krookodile would have nice kids?"

Persephone actually burst out laughing and Ash cracked a smile. He felt better now that he'd done what he could to help another trainer that had lost to him- rather brutally, at that. It put him at ease and made him somewhat proud of himself.

"I'll consider that the next time I try using Attract in battle," Persephone laughed. She offered him a small smile. "I accept your apology. Thank you for telling me that."

"I kind of figured I owed you one," he shrugged. "I was about to recall Sobek out there in case he went too far."

"Well, I don't really blame Krookodile for what he did," she sighed. "It was quite a learning experience. I'm actually from Unova, so I've heard that Krookodile are aggressive, but I never imagined they'd be like that."

Ash snorted. "He's usually not all that bad. He only really gets that way during battles. Moxie doesn't help how angry he gets, that's for sure."

Her eyebrows rose up. "I wondered why he seemed more powerful after fighting Deino. I thought Krookodile had just been holding back, but…that makes more sense."

Persephone shook her head and then smiled at him. "Well, I wish you luck in the finals tomorrow, Ash."

"Thanks," he said graciously. "I'll make sure to win."

She nodded, then turned and left. Ash felt relieved- that had gone well. He'd helped out another trainer by giving them some important knowledge in regards to their own Pokemon. Not to mention, he'd won his semi-final battle. Tomorrow, he would be fighting Gary in the finals.

All in all, not a bad day.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon passed by in a blur.

Ash spent most of the time training with the uninjured members of his team until Pyro and Jasmine were ready to be picked up from Nurse Joy. Sobek was pretty much fine and his checkup at the healing station had been brief. The wounds from his fight with Deino were quick to heal and the surge of hormones he'd gone through after being hit by Attract had already faded away. Now he was just a bit tired and cranky.

That didn't stop him from taking the opportunity to pummel Douse when Ash requested another sparring bout between the pair. He was always eager to fight. It was how he lived and breathed.

Their training session for the day was rather short. Douse had just about figured his new body out, and just in time, too what with the finals being tomorrow. Ash noted with satisfaction that even though he'd gained major control over his body, every one of his attacks that landed did a significant amount of damage. Sobek had to take a break after being hit by a particularly powerful Brick Break that caught him in the gut. He had stopped the battle there to prevent things from going too far- Ash didn't want Sobek incapable of battling tomorrow.

They took some time to put Eevee and Spectre through a few mock battles as well, but it was more for the sake of keeping them on their toes. Ash wanted their battle senses on high since their opponents would be Gary's Pokemon. His rival was no slouch and his Pokemon were just as powerful as Ash's.

But he was going to win. Gary would not defeat him.

By the time dinner rolled around, Ash had retrieved Pyro and Jasmine from the healing station and rejoined his friends along with Norman's family. Gary was already at the table and the moment Ash showed up, their eyes locked, triggering silent tension to fill the air.

Leaf, who had been talking with Gary until Ash arrived, glanced between them and rolled her eyes. "If you two stare at each other much longer, I expect one of you to blush."

The two whipped towards her with annoyed glares, but she merely grinned. "Oops, did I ruin the moment?"

Ash shook his head and took a seat, grabbing one of the dinner menus while he was at it. He set his team loose as well, seeing as they were all as starved as he was. But before he could decide on what he wanted to eat, the loud, clear sound of a glass being tapped upon got the attention of everyone in the room.

Captain Briney was back at the podium, his old smile still wide upon his face. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I trust we're all enjoying ourselves?"

There was plenty of agreement to that statement- the St. Anne was amazing and over the last few days, Ash hadn't seen anyone that wasn't enjoying themselves. Many cheers answered Briney and he chuckled, obviously pleased. "Good, good! I'm sure you're all wondering why I've interrupted your meals, so I shall make this quick. As you're all aware, the finals for the St. Anne Pokemon Tournament are tomorrow. From what I understand, the two young men who will be battling are here tonight, are they not? Could you please stand and be recognized?"

Ash felt a surge of nervousness go through him, but Gary stood up immediately and lifted one of his hands up. The boy gave Ash a challenging look and not wanting to be outdone, he stood up in response. Hundreds of eyes latched onto them, but Ash didn't care. He and Gary were practically glaring at each other, although there was no actual hostility in their eyes- it was the fire of competition that was burning between them.

Briney spotted the pair as they rose and gestured to them for the rest of the crowd. "Ah, there are our two young competitors! Please give them a hand for climbing to the top of the trainers here, everyone!"

Ash and Gary didn't look away from each other as a storm of clapping and whistles filled the air. It was a good thing he had something to distract him- Ash hadn't felt this nervous before in his entire life, but relaxed slightly when he heard more than saw Pyro stomp up behind him to mirror his trainer. Blastoise matched them by standing behind Gary, meeting Pyro's dark eyes with fierce, narrow eyes.

"Thank you all!" Briney said, causing the cheers to quiet down. He had turned to face Ash and Gary, seemingly amused by the boys' eagerness to battle each other. "Now then, I will be announcing the circumstances for tomorrow's battle."

Ash and Gary did turn then to listen to Briney. The old Captain had his arms clasped behind his back as he spoke to them from across the room. "Tomorrow, these two young men will engage each other in a six-on-six full battle. I expect it will likely take some time, so the match will begin at eleven-thirty A.M. sharp. As with the other matches, this battle will be broadcast ship wide for those of you who wish to remain in the comfort of your cabins. In addition, I will be attending the match and will present our top four with the prizes that they have won. In regards to our third and fourth place trainers, please come meet with me after you finish your meals."

Leaf raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Ash imagined that Briney would probably be speaking with her and Persephone about how they would decide third and fourth place, although if he recalled correctly, the Captain had stated it would be decided through a battle.

But his mind was preoccupied by other thoughts at the moment. A full battle! He'd known that the finale would be a big deal, but this was a surprise. Ash had expected another three-on-three fight where he would pit his strongest three against Gary's, not his entire team. Not to mention, he'd never had a full battle before and it was somewhat nerve-wracking.

On the other hand, he'd never been so fired up before. This was probably going to be one of the longest, toughest fights he'd ever had in his life, and against one of his biggest rivals, no less. Gary looked absolutely thrilled and the enormous grin that had formed on his face following Briney's announcement was still going strong.

Ash clenched his fists. It would be a fight to remember.

* * *

"That's it, Douse!" Ash cheered as the Poliwrath ducked under Pyro's Metal Claw and delivered a powerful Brick Break to the dragon's stomach. Pyro roared, skidding back several feet from the force despite digging his claws into the floor, but he recovered easily enough.

Douse made a deep, pleased grunt and cracked his knuckles. He'd gained a lot more control over his muscles since evolving. Ash was sure that he was ready to battle for real. They'd been testing out his moves slowly since yesterday evening, but it was only now that he'd let Douse and Pyro have it out in a short battle.

There had been no mistakes. Every blow Douse delivered was controlled and safe for both himself and his opponent. He would still probably knock out most lesser opponents with one shot, but that was just his own power at this stage. Ash was impressed with the Poliwrath's strength. His physical might outstripped Sobek when the Krookodile wasn't under Moxie's influence and he matched Pyro with ease, although he was slower than both of them. His long range attacks were also quite strong, but there was no doubt in Ash's mind that he was built to get in close and hammer foes into submission.

Ash made to give Pyro and Douse the order to battle again, but he was stopped by a loud, angry yowl. He spun around to stare at the back of the training room just in time to see a floating Eevee spit a Shadow Ball right into Spectre's face. The ghost lurched back through the air with a hollow noise of surprise, but he wasn't hurt too terribly. He was just stunned and retreated a few more meters away from the spitting normal type as she landed easily on her feet.

The boy sighed. He'd have to diffuse that.

"Pyro, Douse, one more round and then just work on your attacks," Ash instructed. "Remember not to get too wild. You both need to be ready to battle Gary's team tomorrow."

The pair grunted their understanding and sized each other up again as Ash walked towards his feuding Pokemon. He had no doubt that Spectre had instigated it- the ghost had been giddy since learning his new Psychic skill and Ash was sure that he wanted to use it for a prank. Unfortunately, he'd picked the wrong Pokemon to pull a practical joke on. Jasmine probably would love to float around and he kind of doubted that Spectre could lift Pyro or Douse at his current level. Sobek wouldn't be affected by the Psychic energy at all.

But Eevee was not fond of pranks. In face, she'd rather despised them ever since meeting Pikachu and learning about his penchant for surprising unsuspecting people with mild electric shocks. Spectre wasn't as mischievous as Pikachu, but the ghost was starting to push it by making her float in the middle of training.

"Settle down, Eevee," Ash called to her as she glared at Spectre. Eevee turned to give him an annoyed look, but her irritation came from her Duskull partner, not Ash himself. The boy offered her a small smile. "I know it's annoying, but I'll take care of him, okay? You just focus on your training."

Her tail twitched and she seemed reluctant, although Ash got the feeling she was alright with handing over control of the situation to him since she'd already put a Shadow Ball in Spectre's face. She nodded briefly, to which he knelt and scratched the fur behind her ears. "Good girl."

Eevee leaned into his touch for a brief moment, then returned her attention to Jasmine, with whom she'd been sparring. Ash stood back up and let the pair get back into it for a moment before he walked over to Spectre, who didn't look guilty at all and seemed to have recovered from the surprise Shadow Ball. He'd certainly learned his lesson- no one on the team, not even Pyro, liked to be on the receiving end of one of Eevee's Shadow Balls.

"I'm guessing you already know not to prank Eevee again, right?" Ash prompted the ghost. Spectre nodded and made a low, hollow noise that he assumed was an apology of some kind. He wasn't actually upset with Spectre- as he'd thought a moment before, getting blasted by Eevee was payback enough for his harmless prank. Ash smiled at the ghost encouragingly. "How about we focus on making you better with Psychic? There'll be time for pranks later, Spectre. After we win the tournament, we'll have a whole day to ourselves."

The ghost's single red eye glinted with mischievous glee at the prospect and he nodded eagerly. Ash chuckled as his friend's enthusiasm returned. He glanced to where Sobek was currently slashing at a target with his claws and nodded in the massive croc's direction. "Go collect some of the rubble that Sobek's got going on there and do some resistance training, okay? Hold Psychic as long as you can and don't let up."

Spectre nodded once more and then floated off. Ash smirked after the little ghost for a moment, then let his eyes trail over each member of his team.

His friends were strong. They would win tomorrow. Of that he was certain.

* * *

Ash was walking along the deck when he ran into Gary.

He blinked at the other boy leaning on the railing, staring over the ocean and the clear sky above it. Gary was fingering the necklace that he always wore and the broken half of a pokeball connected to it. Not wanting to disturb him, Ash tried to walk past his rival silently, but apparently Gary already knew he was there.

"Trying to sneak by without even saying hello?"

Ash glanced at his friend over his shoulder. "You looked like you were thinking pretty hard. I didn't want to break your concentration."

Gary snorted. "It's no big deal. I was just thinking about how badly I'm gonna kick your ass tomorrow."

"I'm terrified," he said dryly. Ash took a spot by the railing a few feet away from his friend. He'd left his hat with Spectre and the sea breeze blowing through his black hair felt great. It was nice and cool, with substantial lighting from the full moon overhead and the lights scattered across the deck.

For a few minutes, the pair were silent. Content to simply enjoy the quiet, cool air and anticipation building from their upcoming battle.

"So," Gary broke the silence, to no one's surprise. "You heard from my Grandpa, right? About how he wants us all to meet up at Pallet Town after we blow this popsicle stand?"

Ash shrugged. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well seeing as there's no way I'm going to just sit down and do nothing for a week or two, I figured we could take the opportunity to train together for a while," Gary proposed. "Leaf'll be there too. I like to think we're all about the same level, but she's a little behind us."

"She probably just needs to evolve a few of her Pokemon and catch a couple of new ones," he replied. "Once Saur gets used to his new body, I'm sure she'll catch up."

"Probably," his rival admitted. "I think she's going to double up her training regime. I talked to her after the battle- she was a bit upset, y'know? - and it sounds like she hit a bit of a wall after battling Koga. He really creamed you two, didn't he?"

Ash sighed. "He did that, alright. But now that Pyro, Sobek, and Douse have evolved…"

"You guys have to stop relying on just power," Gary stopped him. Ash raised an eyebrow and turned to look at his rival, who was frowning as he stared over the ocean. "You and Leaf don't fight with much more than brute force. You've got a couple of combo moves here and there, but they're all kind of…well, blunt."

"Grandpa told me that he used to be the same way," he went on. "He relied on power at first when he was a new trainer and it actually got him pretty far. You can't be great without a lot of power, after all. But he said that once he got up into the higher levels of competition, he started losing a lot more often. That was kind of when he took a step back and began to come up with more strategies."

"I figure since we have lots of time in Pallet Town coming up, we could spend some time together working on that. Maybe the old man can even help us out if he gets a moment or two," Gary shrugged. "I just don't want you and Leaf to fall behind and not make it to the Indigo League. It'd be so lame if I was the only one of us going there."

Ash turned his eyes back to the water. What Gary said was true- he'd been told many times before as well that he'd been relying far too much on his Pokemon's brute strength, but to be honest, he hadn't been able to think of any complex strategies. He had told himself that strategy would come with experience, so he'd spent all of his time so far just making his team stronger. But as Gary, Koga, and Erika had told him, there was no way he'd get much farther on power alone. Koga especially would wipe the floor with him if he didn't change things up, evolved Pokemon or not.

"I know," he said at last. "I haven't had a lot of luck making strategies, to tell you the truth."

"You probably just don't have the right mindset," Gary mused. "Don't take that the wrong way- you're not dumb, otherwise your team would be nowhere near as strong as they are now. But I think you're having trouble thinking outside the box. I'll talk to Grandpa after we get back home and see if he can help us out. I'm not all that great at strategies either, but I like to think that the old man rubbed off on me a bit. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."

Ash smirked then. "I hope those tricks are enough for you to take on my team. I'm not holding back, Gary."

"Of course not!" Gary grinned back at him. "If you pull your punches, I'll smack you upside the head. Maybe that'll put some sense into your brain."

"Sense? This coming from the guy who tried to jump one of Professor Oak's Rhyhorn?"

"It was _your_ idea, you punk!"

* * *

The next day, Ash and Gary found themselves facing off from opposite ends of the battlefield.

Somehow, the watching crowd was even larger than the other days. It seemed that more people had come out of their cabins to come and see the fight in person. His nerves were acting up a bit, but not as much as the previous days. He had gotten somewhat used to the large number of spectators over the course of the three day tournament.

His fingers trailed over the six pokeballs on his belt. Pyro, Sobek, Eevee, Douse, Spectre, and Jasmine. He had a solid team, even if there weren't any others that he could pick from for the time being. Ash kind of wished that he'd caught a few more Pokemon by now, but there was nothing to be done about it. He'd make sure to capture some more before entering another tournament.

Gary had more options than Ash could honestly remember, and he was certain that the other boy had captured more Pokemon since the last time they'd met in Celadon City. He knew that Gary would definitely utilize Blastoise, Nidoqueen, and likely Pidgeot as well, but the other three could have been exchanged. There was a Pokemon storage system on the boat and Ash had to accept the possibility of his rival using Pokemon that he hadn't battled with in the tournament so far.

Angela, as usual, was acting as the referee/announcer. "Welcome everyone to the final day of the St. Anne Pokemon Tournament! Our competitors are Gary, in the red corner and Ash, in the blue corner!"

Ash smirked a little at that. Oh, the irony.

"Today, these two young men will face each other in a full six-on-six full battle!" Angela continued. "There is no time limit, and the battle will conclude when all six of one side's Pokemon are unable to continue! Furthermore, there will be no substitutions! Coin toss has determined that Gary has the first move! Now trainers, release your Pokemon!"

Gary enlarged a pokeball and tossed it up and down for a moment as he smirked at Ash from across the field. "I've been waiting a long time for this, Ashy boy! Try to keep up!"

"It's the other way around," he grinned back. "I'm leaving you in the dust!"

"Heh!" Gary brought his arm back to throw the pokeball over the field. "Bring it on!"

Pidgeot appeared on the ground and immediately spread her wings to shriek challengingly at Ash. He pursed his lips as he considered the huge bird- to be frank, his only reliable option here was Pyro. None of his other Pokemon had enough experience or the right techniques to fight flying opponents of Pidgeot's caliber. If he'd had Pikachu with him…

He shook the thought from his head and grabbed Pyro's pokeball. There was no other option for now.

With a flash of light, the Charizard was on the field and roared at Pidgeot, who screeched back. It was obvious from the way that his claws and wings tensed that he was more than ready for a fight. His tail thrashed and he snorted a short plume of flame.

Angela raised her hand and then quickly slashed it down. "Begin!"

"Into the air!" Gary ordered immediately.

"After it!" Ash shouted.

Pidgeot and Pyro erupted into the sky with blasts of wind from their powerful wings, forcing Ash to hold his hat so it didn't fly away. They climbed quickly and once the two fighters ascended to about fifty feet, Gary called up to his Pokemon. "Double Team! Confuse it and use Wing Attack!"

Pidgeot's body flashed white for a split second and then a dozen illusory clones appeared in the air nearby. They leveled off as one and lunged at Pyro, who faced them with a challenging snarl.

"Mow them down!" Ash countered. "Flamethrower!"

Pyro roared and unleashed a rippling torrent of fire, which he swept across the sky to destroy nine of the clones in one fell swoop. The flames forced Pidgeot and her remaining three clones to scatter as Pyro chased after them, still spitting fire. He managed to blast one of them and made to shoot down a second, but missed. The Pidgeot whirled around then and darted at him with a blur of speed, slamming its wing into his body and knocking the Charizard back several meters in the air.

Ash's eyes locked onto the bird that had just struck Pyro, identifying it as the real Pidgeot. "Go after it! Grab it with Metal Claw and use Flamethrower!"

Pyro lunged after the real Pidgeot, who dismissed the remaining illusions and let them dissipate. The bird was faster than Pyro thanks to her lighter build and greater experience with flight, but if she got hit by a Flamethrower it would slow her down enough for Pyro to finish her off.

Gary changed tactics. "Agility! Drive it to the ground!"

Pidgeot banked sharply then to the left and vanished in a blur of speed. Pyro stopped in midair and whipped his head around, trying to find the huge bird that had disappeared so suddenly. He growled a challenge, only to have it answered by a metallic wing smashing into his back from below. The Charizard roared and spun around, but Pidgeot had already darted above him and came blurring down to strike his right wing with her sharp beak.

The Aerial Ace took Pyro in the joint of his wing and he bellowed with pain and rage, unable to catch the ridiculously fast Pidgeot. Ash mentally cursed as he saw Pidgeot bank again to come at the Charizard from behind and slammed another Steel Wing into his injury. Gary was trying to cripple Pyro and force him back to the field, where Pidgeot could assault him from the sky.

Pyro spat fireballs and streams of flame every time Pidgeot came around for another attack. Enhanced by Agility as she was, he had no chance of catching her, especially as his wings were weakened by the constant attacks. It was a good thing that Pyro was so much more durable than Pidgeot was. If he'd been as lightweight as her, he'd have been crippled by the first blow to catch his wing. His tougher scales and bulkier body meant he could take more damage and still fly, but all of this punishment was taking a toll on him.

Pidgeot scored another Aerial Ace, this time hitting Pyro's left wing, and Ash clenched his fist. Pyro's wings wouldn't be able to hold up his massive weight for much longer at this rate. He was already descending as he struggled to remain aloft. "Flamethrower in every direction!"

The Charizard snarled and sucked in a deep breath, then bathed the sky in fire. He spun around in a full 360 and swept his head all over the place to blast the air above and below him. His maw released jets of flame absolutely everywhere, giving Pidgeot no opportunity to strike him.

She had just been coming in for another attack when Pyro had seared the air with his fury and was forced to bank sharply to escape the burning deluge. Even with Agility, she'd been too close to escape it all and her wingtips had been slightly singed, leaving a trail of smoke in her wake. She shrieked angrily and leveled out once the flames dissipated to begin her assault anew.

Ash wasn't having that. "Smokescreen!"

Pyro exhaled a huge cloud of smoke, which enveloped his body and quickly spread for nearly thirty feet in any direction. The roiling black mass blotted out the sun, eclipsing the battlefield beneath it for a few moments until Gary took action. "Gust!"

Pidgeot shrieked and began to flap her wings rapidly, creating a tornado that dispersed the Smokescreen and trapped whatever was hiding inside of it. Pyro roared in fury as the howling winds blew his camouflage away and leered at the massive bird flying twenty feet overhead. Gust wasn't strong enough to do more than annoy him, but Ash didn't want to chance it straining his already weakened wings further. However, he also saw an opportunity.

A fierce grin fell onto his lips. "Thanks for the wind, Gary! Pyro! Fire Spin!"

To be honest, he wasn't actually sure if Pyro could hear him way up there and trapped in the middle of those powerful winds, but he got his answer when the Charizard breathed a stream of flame which was quickly sucked into the tornado and turned it into a blazing twister.

It wasn't _actually_ Fire Spin, per se- Pyro had been having a bit of trouble perfecting that move. Getting the flames to spin in a controlled manner was more difficult than it had originally seemed. But in this case, Pyro had taken the Gust Pidgeot had so _generously_ provided and adapted it into his own attack. Long story short, it was basically a mix of Gust and Flamethrower.

But it worked and Ash was grinning like a maniac at the sight.

An infernal twister nearly forty feet high was roaring in the middle of the battlefield, causing the psychic barriers which protected the spectators to flare up slightly. It was ridiculously hot and Ash could feel sweat forming on his skin, even as he squinted away from the bright conflagration. Pyro was still in the eye of the storm, but the heat and flames would do little more than warm him up comfortably. He was right in his element.

Pidgeot…not so much.

The bird shrieked with surprise as her tornado was turned into an inferno and she was forced to retreat before it could reach her. Without her wings providing the wind, the burning twister only lasted a few more seconds, but it had served its purpose of keeping Pidgeot busy long enough for Pyro to get above her.

Gary's warning yell was lost even to the birds sharp ears amidst the roaring of the flames and she never saw Pyro coming. The dragon swooped down from above and drove a Mega Punch that carried all of his strength, the momentum of his descent, and the force of gravity behind it into her back. Pidgeot screeched in pain and fell, utterly stunned by the blow. Pyro spat a Flamethrower after her for good measure and the bird was immediately enveloped by the terrible flames.

Gary lifted Pidgeot's pokeball up and recalled her before she could hit the ground. If she'd fallen from that high up it would have resulted in more serious injuries than what Pyro had delivered.

His opponent vanquished, the Charizard descended faster than Ash would have liked and landed roughly with a snarl of annoyance. Ash winced at the sight of his friends wings- they were bleeding all over from Pidgeot's relentless speed attacks. Pyro still had some gas left in the tank, but he'd be stuck on the ground for the most part from this point on. His sheer body mass was too much for his injured wings to keep him airborne.

"Good job, buddy," Ash praised his starter. Pyro turned to growl at him, but it was a growl of delight. His blood was pumping and he was doing what he loved- battle.

Gary set Pidgeot's pokeball back on his belt and smirked across the field. "Not bad, Ashy boy. Charizard's flying is kinda second-rate though, isn't it?"

Pyro snarled aggressively at the mild insult, but Ash only grinned as he shot back. "It was enough to beat Pidgeot!"

"Fair enough," his rival picked out another pokeball and hurled it onto the field. "But here comes sweet revenge!"

His second was Nidoqueen. The huge poison type locked her eyes on Pyro immediately and a rumbling growl built in her throat at the sight of her rival. Pyro roared, challenging her with all his might despite his weakened body and Nidoqueen responded by clenching her massive hands into fists as she bellowed.

Ash smirked. No doubt Nidoqueen had been waiting for a chance to get back at Pyro for defeating her on Route 6 a few months back. She was definitely strong enough to be a challenge.

"It's only revenge if you win," Ash called to Gary. He clenched his fist. "We're not just handing it over to you! Flamethrower!"

Pyro immediately exhaled a stream of red-hot fire, which ripped across the fifty feet of battlefield in a matter of seconds. Nidoqueen didn't flinch in the face of the fierce rush and waited as her trainer ordered defense. "Protect!"

The poison type lifted her hands up and created an emerald barrier, which the Flamethrower washed over harmlessly. As soon as Pyro ceased using the attack- having realized that his expense of remaining energy was being wasted- Gary went on the offensive once more. "Sludge Bomb!"

Nidoqueen spat a huge glob of thick purple liquid, which was followed by two more Sludge Bombs. Gary then gave some quiet order that Ash didn't hear, but he had other priorities for the moment. "Metal Claw!"

Pyro's claws flashed metallic silver as he slashed at the Sludge Bombs, rendering them mostly harmless with the steel type move. Whenever he destroyed one, they burst into smaller chunks of sludge that landed on his scales- that didn't hurt him as much as a full-powered Sludge Bomb, but it still hurt if his snarling said anything.

He frowned when he saw that Nidoqueen had taken the opportunity to lower herself to all fours. Her thick back spines glowed violet and before he could give Pyro another command, she fired Toxic Spikes into the air. The venomous barbs landed all over the field and a few of them actually made contact with Pyro. Although most of them bounced off of his thick scales, one or two of the spikes pierced the Charizard's damaged wings and pumped debilitating poison into him.

Ash grit his teeth. Gary really wanted Pyro out of the picture and it made sense. Pyro was probably the strongest Pokemon he had and defeating him meant that Gary would be taking out one of Ash's vital powerhouses early on. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became that his rival had planned this out before the battle had even begun. He was getting played.

"We're on a time limit, Pyro!" Ash told his friend. The Charizard growled and thrashed his tail, signaling his desire to keep on fighting. "Dragon Rush!"

Pyro's irises slitted as he lunged with a flap of his wings, using the downward force to propel him across the field. Hints of the blue-green draconic energy formed around his head, but it was obviously far from enough to envelop him. Ash gritted his teeth as the charge brought his starter in the path of more Toxic Spikes, which pierced the underside of his feet and pumped more venom into him. However, the pain only further enraged Pyro and caused him to roar menacingly.

Menacing or not, Gary met the dragon type move head-on. "Body Slam!"

Nidoqueen bellowed and charged, slamming into Pyro's Dragon Rush with the full weight of her body behind her shoulder. The two massive Pokemon pushed hard for a few moments, then pulled back for just a second before lashing out with their powerful arms to grapple with each other.

"Fire Fang!" Ash shouted.

Pyro's maw crackled with fire as his head darted down to bite Nidoqueen's shoulder, but he was stopped as her huge skull suddenly came forward to smash into his jaw. The impromptu Headbutt did the job and momentarily jarred Pyro, giving Gary a chance to counterattack. "Sludge Bomb!"

Nidoqueen spat the venomous glob at her enemy point-blank, the force of which caused Pyro to skid back several feet. He snarled at her with his jaws trickling fire, but was met with more Sludge Bombs before he could react. The Charizard was getting tired as the damage from his battle with Pidgeot and the poison coursing through his veins finally started to really slow him down.

Ash shouted a warning, but his starter was too dazed by the subsequent attacks to hear as Nidoqueen charged again and slammed into him once again. This time, her Body Slam lifted Pyro off his feet with enough force to hurl him across the field, where he landed harshly and lay on the ground for a few moments. The Charizard managed to slowly push himself back up to his feet, but he was panting heavily and looked like he was at the end of his rope.

He bit his lip and reached for Pyro's pokeball, knowing that his friend was probably about to get knocked out. He'd try to do a bit more damage to Nidoqueen, but Pyro was running low on energy and likely wouldn't be able to-

-Pyro's tail flame flared bright blue then and he lifted his head high to roar at the top of his lungs. Ash's eyes widened momentarily in surprise, but he grinned a second later. Blaze.

Gary's expression went from confidence to wariness. "Head's up, Nidoqueen. That's gonna be a problem."

Nidoqueen snorted and lowered her head slightly, watching the empowered Charizard as blue flames spilled from his jaws with every breath.

"Put everything you've got left into this one, Pyro!" Ash commanded. The Charizard's tail flame flared again as his trainer gave him his orders. "Flamethrower!"

Pyro inhaled deeply and then the next second, the battlefield was illuminated by a massive jet of blue fire, which raced through the air with an intense roar towards its target. If that made contact, it was going to do serious damage.

"Protect!" Gary ordered quickly.

Nidoqueen held her arms up to generate an emerald shield of energy, which the blue flames crashed into with a loud impact. Undeterred, Pyro poured even more of his remaining power into the Flamethrower and the shield began to crack. Nidoqueen's eyes widened as she tried to reinforce her defensive barrier, but the cracks spread and after a few seconds, Protect shattered entirely with a violent explosion.

The poison type bellowed in agony as the incredibly hot flames scorched her body, but she had managed to withstand the initial rush and was only struck by the final remnants of Pyro's power. The torrent of blue fire faded a moment later and Pyro gave one last snarl of defiance before he collapsed, too spent to go on.

Ash recalled his friend and smiled at the pokeball containing the now unconscious Charizard. "Thanks for hanging in there, buddy. Take a break."

He looked across the field to his opponent and gauged Nidoqueen as she bellowed in victory. The huge poison type had mild burns covering her armored body, but she looked like she could still fight for a while longer. She hadn't taken much damage aside from the Flamethrower at the end.

Ash's eyes trailed from his opponent to the battlefield itself. Toxic Spikes still littered the field and he frowned. Those were going to be a nuisance if he didn't find a way to get rid of them. He needed to find a way around the venomous barbs for the time being until he could think up a way to remove their presence.

He sent Spectre out. The Duskull wasn't his strongest Pokemon, but he could float over the Toxic Spikes and wear Nidoqueen down with his tricky battle style. If Spectre could avoid taking a direct hit from the huge poison type, the boy was confident that he could do a lot of damage. Plus, Ash suspected that Gary assumed he would send out Sobek or Douse to fight Nidoqueen with a type advantage, so this would hopefully shake his rival's plans up a bit.

Spectre blinked his single red eye at Nidoqueen and the ravaged battlefield curiously. Ash quickly got the little ghost's attention. "Be careful, Spectre. Pyro weakened Nidoqueen, but she's still got a lot of energy left. Watch where you touch the ground, too- it's covered in Toxic Spikes."

The Duskull made a hollow grunt of understanding as the battle began once more.

"Sludge Bomb!"

"Shadow Sneak!"

Nidoqueen spat another glob of venom, but it wasn't fast enough to make it over the field before Spectre dove into his shadow and just splattered across the ground. The Duskull took care to avoid touching any of the Toxic Spikes around him and darted over to Nidoqueen before the poison type could figure out where he was, then lunged out of the field at his opponent's feet and rammed his skull mask into her face.

It didn't do much damage though and only provoked Nidoqueen into growling. Gary tried to take advantage of his Pokemon's close proximity as Spectre backed off. "Crunch!"

She lunged forward with her mouth agape, but only bit into empty air as Spectre quickly dove back into the shadows. He appeared this time behind Nidoqueen, giving Ash a chance to counter. "Ghost Flare!"

Spectre generated the large, blue fireball and launched it at Nidoqueen's open back from only a few meters away, causing her to bellow in pain as the attack exploded in a burst of flame and ghostly energy. It didn't help that the burns she'd gained from fighting Pyro were still there and only intensified her agony.

Gary gritted his teeth. "Ice Beam!"

Nidoqueen whirled around and charged icy blue energy at her horn, then fired the freezing bolts at Spectre. The little ghost defended himself instantly by generating a shield, which caused Ice Beam to harmlessly dissipate.

"Shadow Ball!" Ash ordered.

As Spectre rapidly compressed the ghost type energy into a sphere, Gary countered. "Ice Beam!"

Both moves were launched and collided with a slight shockwave, but the Ice Beam tore through Shadow Ball after just a moment. Spectre made a hollow noise of pained surprise as he was struck by the ice type move and retreated slightly by floating away.

But Gary was unwilling to let the ghost escape Nidoqueen. "Crunch!"

Nidoqueen charged again and tried to bite Spectre again, forcing Ash to react quickly. "Disable!"

Spectre's red eye flared as he stopped Nidoqueen in her tracks by locking her body in a prison of red energy. The huge poison type struggled and she would have escaped after a moment had Ash not followed up. "Psychic! Throw her!"

The blue glow of Psychic immediately enveloped and hurled Nidoqueen into the air, launching her huge body several meters across the field. She gave an indignant bellow and managed to spit a Sludge Bomb at Spectre as she fell, but he quickly dodged it with Shadow Sneak. Nidoqueen slammed into the ground and managed to get to her feet, but she was obviously tiring. Her movements were slowing and the poison type was breathing heavier than she had before.

"Ghost Flare!"

Spectre darted across the field in his shadow and popped up ten feet away from Nidoqueen, where he quickly charged and fired the combination move while she was still recovering from the impact of her fall. Nidoqueen bared her fangs and groaned as the Ghost Flare took her in the chest and further irritated her already burned armor.

Gary wasn't about to give up yet, though. "Sludge Bomb! Cover the field!"

Nidoqueen roared in defiance of her foes, then began to spit huge globs of venom all over the place. A few of them were aimed at Spectre, forcing the ghost to retreat as the poison type littered the battlefield with the toxic sludge. Ash wrinkled his nose and watched with a frown as Spectre dodged the attacks while disgusting puddles spread all over the terrain. The ghost wouldn't have many places to jump into shadows now. His frown deepened when he saw the sludge envelop and conceal some of the Toxic Spikes.

This complicated things. It would be best to take Nidoqueen out now before she could manipulate the field any further to Gary's advantage.

"Get in close with Shadow Sneak," he said slowly. "Then use Shadow Ball to finish it off."

Spectre quickly floated to one of the few patches of clear ground and dove into his shadow to dart at Nidoqueen. She remained in place, seemingly unperturbed by her opponent's disappearing act. Gary simply smirked and his lack of caution warranted some wariness from Ash. His rival was up to something, but what-

Too late, he realized exactly what Gary was gunning for. Ash opened his mouth to shout a warning as Spectre appeared from the only clear patch of ground close to Nidoqueen- right at her feet. She knew _exactly_ where he was going to be.

"Crunch!"

Nidoqueen's fangs buried themselves into the little ghost's physical body with righteous fury, causing Spectre to howl in pain. She shook him in her jaws fiercely for a few moments and then harshly threw the Duskull smack-dab into the middle of a sludge pool. Spectre moaned hollowly as the sludge and Toxic Spikes hiding within it saturated his body with poison.

"Ice Beam!" Gary followed up.

"Protect!" Ash shouted frantically.

Freezing rays were fired from Nidoqueen's horn and managed to hit Spectre before he got his shield up, but he managed to form Protect after a moment and blocked the rest of the attack. Ash clenched his fist in frustration. For a while there, it looked like Spectre would be able to overwhelm the weakened Nidoqueen, but Gary had flipped the battle upside down in the blink of an eye.

"Wrap this up, Nidoqueen!" Gary snapped his fingers confidently. "Crunch!"

Nidoqueen charged once again, opening her jaws to engulf the Duskull and finish him off. Desperate, Ash went for one last attack. "Ghost Flare!"

Spectre formed up a sphere of blue fire and ghostly energy just before Nidoqueen reached him and caused her to accidentally Crunch down on the Ghost Flare instead, which exploded violently. The blast consumed Nidoqueen's face and Spectre's entire body and after a tense moment, they both slumped to the ground.

Ash sighed as he recalled his friend. Spectre had been doing so well until Nidoqueen caught and poisoned him. It was his fault as a trainer for missing such an obvious trap, but Spectre had done a good job bringing Nidoqueen down with him even if Ash had messed up.

"Good job, Spectre," he murmured to the ghost's pokeball. "You did your best."

As he placed Spectre's pokeball back on his belt, he closed his eyes and took a breath. The score was tied 2-2. He could still turn this around.

Jasmine was his third Pokemon. Ash hated sending her out onto a field smothered in Nidoqueen's Toxic Spikes and sludge, but he didn't have a choice right now.

He saw her flinch the second she appeared on the battlefield and knew that the sludge was definitely causing her pain. Jasmine gave a low cry and turned to look at Ash with confusion. He smiled tightly. "Sorry girl, but the field is really messed up right now. Just bear with it for a moment, alright?"

She nodded and turned back to face Gary, though the way her body twitched painfully every now and again sent a pang through Ash. He hated putting her in such a bad situation.

Gary sent out a Weepinbell for his third, confirming Ash's suspicions that he'd swapped some Pokemon out. It made sense to use Weepinbell here because its own poison typing would allow it to be unaffected by the sludge and Toxic Spikes littered over the field.

But now Ash had a plan to get rid of the debilitating substances covering the field. He glared at their opponent as Gary made the first move.

"Effect Spore!" Gary ordered. Weepinbell gurgled and released a huge cloud of spores from its circular mouth. Ash was sure it was probably a combination of Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, and Poison Powder of some variant, or maybe all three. Whatever it was, he had no intention of letting it reach Jasmine.

"Burn it away," he clenched his fist. "Flamethrower!"

Jasmine opened her mouth and blasted the air with Flamethrower, which instantly incinerated the spores. Weepinbell gurgled in panic as she swept the fire from one side of the field to the other, ensuring all remnants of its attack were destroyed. As soon as the immediate danger was gone, Ash moved to the second stage of his plan. "Alright, now burn the sludge! Use Flamethrower all over the field!"

The Dratini let out a low cry as she sucked in a deep breath, then liberally bathed the battlefield in flames. She smote the sludge with a sweep of her head to direct the Flamethrower and Ash watched in satisfaction as the thick, purple substance was burned away. It smelled horrible to the point that he almost gagged, but he didn't care as long as it was gone and not threatening his team.

By the time Jasmine had finished her work, only a few small clumps of sludge remained and an equally small number of Toxic Spikes, the majority of which she had also burned away. She looked back at Ash for approval and he grinned at her. "Good girl."

She trilled happily and closed her eyes for a moment, then the scales of her belly glowed faintly as she shed off the parts that had been coated by the sludge. Shed Skin was a really useful ability for situations like this because it let Jasmine remove the outer layer of her scales that had been tainted by status effects like poison. The loss of her damaged scales caused her to sigh in relief, although Ash knew that her belly scales would be soft for a while. That was a vulnerable point now if Gary caught onto it.

Still, the field was back to the way he preferred. Gary had a grudgingly impressed look on his face. "Not bad, Ashy boy. I didn't think your little dragon had that much firepower."

"There's a lot more where that came from," Ash promised with a confident grin. Jasmine gave a fierce cry to challenge their foe and tensed her serpentine body as Ash gave his next command. "Agility!"

Jasmine slipped into the enhancing technique instantly and began to dart over the field towards Weepinbell. Gary quickly made to stop her in her tracks. "Grab it with Vine Whip!"

Weepinbell gurgled as a pair of vines shot from the sides of its body, just beneath its leaves. The long, thin vines whipped after Jasmine, but she easily blurred around them and got in close to the grass type before it knew what was happening.

"Dragon Tail!"

Jasmine's tail glowed bright emerald as she swung it at Weepinbell and scored a clean hit, sending the plant-like creature flying. Weepinbell made a panicked gurgle and tried to whack her again with its vines, but the Dratini slipped into Agility again and evaded it once more.

"Effect Spore!" Gary shouted. "If you don't slow it down, you'll never catch it!"

Weepinbell once again blasted the air with debilitating spores, this time encompassing the air above Jasmine. She wouldn't have time to burn the cloud away, but fortunately Ash still had a way to handle the spores. "Safeguard!"

A pink sphere of energy quickly formed around Jasmine, upon which the spores dissolved harmlessly. She had little trouble maintaining the technique, so Ash made to shut Weepinbell down before it could keep spouting the troublesome move. "Flamethrower!"

Gary narrowed his eyes as Jasmine spat a gout of flame from within her shield and redirected Weepinbell. "Sludge Bomb!"

Weepinbell quickly cut the Effect Spore and regurgitated a glob of poisonous liquid, which met the Flamethrower head-on and generated an explosion of smoke. Though the attacks had cancelled each other out, the blast was enough to destroy what few spores remained in the air. Ash took advantage of the situation immediately. "Get in close and use Thunder Wave!"

Jasmine slipped back into Agility and darted across the remaining distance to get into Weepinbell's face. It flinched and gurgled in surprise, but wasn't quick enough to dodge the burst of electricity that was launched from the Dratini's horn. Weepinbell gurgled in distress as the electricity spread over and cramped its body.

Gary swore, but Ash wasn't done. "Flamethrower!"

While Weepinbell was immobilized by paralysis, Jasmine exhaled a rippling torrent of fire at close range. The flames smote Weepinbell and cooked it for several seconds before Gary recalled his Pokemon. Her opponent defeated, Jasmine quickly darted back to Ash's side of the field and trilled at him proudly.

"Atta girl!" He praised. The Dratini's tail waved in delight as she took a moment from the battle to bask in her trainer's approval. Ash felt more relaxed now as Gary placed the defeated Weepinbell's pokeball on his belt and withdrew their fourth opponent.

His rival's fourth Pokemon was Graveler. Ash recalled that the last time he'd seen the rock type, it had just evolved in Celadon. It was pretty strong from what he remembered and there was little doubt Gary had trained it more since then. But Jasmine had defeated other Graveler before- she could defeat this one as well.

Still, it bothered him that Gary would choose Graveler to fight Jasmine- he'd just had problems keeping up with her speed and Graveler was even slower than Weepinbell. There was no way it was going to catch her outright.

"Be careful, Jasmine," Ash told her. She trilled agreement as he took the initiative. "Dragon Rage!"

Jasmine let out a low cry and released a blast of blue draconic energy, which tore through the air towards Graveler. The stone creature leered back with small eyes as Gary gave his own orders. "Rock Tomb."

Graveler slammed its four fists into the ground, triggering rocks to erupt upwards and encase its body in a protective barrier. Jasmine's Dragon Rage exploded against the shield and managed to crack the thick stone, though it didn't penetrate.

Ash raised an eyebrow at the unusual use of the move, but Gary had a plan ready. "Rock Smash!"

Chunks of stone went flying as Graveler's four fists pulverized its own shield. The rock type let out a groaning roar and smashed the remnants of the Rock Tomb after Jasmine, who was suddenly in danger of being pelted by the falling stones.

"Agility!" Ash ordered quickly.

Jasmine began to dart around the field and managed to dodge most of the missiles, although a couple of them did reach her. They wouldn't do much damage, but no one liked getting hit by flying rocks and her yelps signified that she was no different.

As the remaining stones littered the field, Graveler was given further command. "Hard Curl. Rollout."

The stone creature grunted as it curled its body into a large ball of stone and then glowed white for a few seconds. Ash recognized the move as a mix of Harden and Defense Curl, probably designed to increase Graveler's defense and toughen its body so that any opponent it hit would be further injured.

Still curled up, Graveler began to roll across the field towards Jasmine, who simply watched and waited with a curious tilt of her head. What was it with these rocky things and playing games in the middle of battle?

"Dodge it," Ash instructed her. "Blast it with Dragon Rage when you're far enough away!"

Jasmine's tail twitched as she followed her trainer's orders. She slipped into Agility and easily outmaneuvered Graveler, who rolled right past her and made a slow turn to chase its enemy. Jasmine darted about twenty feet away from the rock type and unleashed Dragon Rage on its rolling form, but she did little more than momentarily slow it down. When it rolled closer, she slithered away again.

Ash watched as Jasmine hit Graveler with Dragon Rage three more times, but all of the blasts washed off its stone shell harmlessly. Its defenses were too high for her to break through, enhanced with Harden and Defense Curl as it was.

"Fine, then fling it into the air! Iron Tail!"

Gary's eyes widened in surprise as Jasmine lunged at Graveler's rolling form, then darted to the rock type's side and slammed her metallic silver tail into her target. Graveler grunted in pain from within its shell as the impact slightly cracked its defenses, but it was only a mild wound. The rock type uncurled itself upon being launched into the air by Iron Tail and roared at Jasmine, who tensed as gravity reclaimed control over her foe.

Graveler's massive form came down with a heavy impact, but Jasmine was several meters away by now, having darted away with Agility as soon as the stone beast started to fall. The ground beneath Graveler's body had been cratered by its huge weight, but it hardly looked affected by the fall.

"Iron Tail once more!" Ash ordered.

Jasmine lunged and covered the short distance quickly, her tail once more glowing metallic silver. Gary was ready though this time and snapped as she got in close. "Rock Tomb!"

The rock type slammed its fists into the dirt and the stones that erupted from the field encased its body and Jasmine as she reached her target. Ash's heart lurched as he heard the Dratini's muffled cry of surprise from inside the trap turn to pain. Graveler had caught her.

"Rock Smash!" Gary shouted.

There was an explosion of rubble as Graveler, who gripped Jasmine's serpentine form in all four of its powerful hands, pummeled her through the Rock Tomb with overwhelming force. Ash didn't even need to see the dust clear to know that she was unconscious from the impact. He lifted her Safari Ball up and recalled her limp form, smiling at the device for a moment. "You did a great job, girl. Rest up now."

Ash considered Graveler for a moment. It had taken a few hits, but most hadn't done much of anything and only Jasmine's Iron Tail had caused it any actual pain. He still had Sobek, Eevee, and Douse left. He could do this.

His fourth, Sobek, appeared on the battlefield. The Krookodile let out a challenging roar as his fierce red eyes found his foe. His lips curled in a snarl to bare huge teeth and his claws flexed, ready to tear Graveler's stone armor asunder.

Gary smirked at the aggressive croc. "I wondered when you'd finally throw Krookodile into the fray. Better late than never."

"Careful what you wish for," Ash grinned fiercely along with his Pokemon. "Don't hold back, Sobek!"

A guttural hiss built up in Sobek's throat as he prepared to do battle. Gary sneered at the display and simply took command of Graveler again. "Hard Curl and Rollout!"

Utilizing the same defensive technique from before, Graveler curled up and began to roll towards Sobek, building up momentum as it got closer. Ash was undeterred by the boulder-like creature's assault and countered. "Foul Play!"

The Krookodile's claws flashed jet black as he slashed at the oncoming rock type, hitting it at an upward angle so that it was flung into the air. Graveler's own momentum lifted it higher until it fell like a small meteor, impacting the field hard enough to make another, larger crater with its body. The rock type had been curled up when it hit, so it hadn't suffered terrible damage, but it was visibly wincing when it uncurled itself.

"Assurance!" Ash followed up.

"Rock Tomb!" Gary shot back.

Sobek lunged and tried to slash at the weakened rock type with his powerful claws, but Graveler hurriedly created another shield of stone that weathered the blow with only a few cracks. Ash shouted a warning for Sobek to back up as Graveler, just as it had before, smashed its shield to pieces with Rock Smash and sent chunks of rock flying.

The Krookodile only snarled as he leapt back and slashed at the incoming missiles. He destroyed most of them with his claws and even crunched a few into pebbles in his powerful jaws.

"Stone Edge!" Both rivals shouted.

Sobek and Graveler slammed their fists into the ground and triggered blades of stone to erupt upwards, which crashed into each other and immediately crumbled into pieces from the mutually destructive impact.

"Crunch!" He ordered.

Sobek growled and charged Graveler, huge fangs at the ready to pulverize its stone armor. He covered the distance between them in a matter of seconds, but it was ample time for Gary to prepare defensive measures. "Muzzle it!"

As Sobek's fangs neared, two of Graveler's arms grabbed his open jaws and snapped them shut, forcing them close inches from its body. The Krookodile snarled in fury and tried to wrench his head free, but Graveler's stone hands had a tight grip.

"Rock Smash!" Gary commanded. Graveler's remaining two arms glowed orange and it made to drive its fists into Sobek's belly, but the Krookodile managed to catch his foe's punches with his claws. The pair of grappling Pokemon growled at each other viciously, each desperately attempting to overpower the other.

It was a stalemate that Ash and Sobek had no escape from, but Gary apparently had a countermeasure for such a situation. "Stone Edge!"

To Ash's surprise, Graveler lifted one stubby foot off the ground and briefly stomped, which triggered a blade of stone to punch out of the field. The Stone Edge caught Sobek clean in the stomach and launched him back to Ash's side of the field with a bellow of pain as he landed roughly.

Sobek rose to his feet with a furious growl bubbling in his throat, glaring at Graveler as the rock type grunted and casually smashed the Stone Edge that was now blocking its path. He was irate that he'd been outplayed by this… _thing_. Sobek didn't even know what a Graveler actually was aside from obviously being an overgrown clump of rocks, but he decided that it was extremely irritating.

Ash on the other hand, had to give Gary credit where it was due. He'd made Graveler into a surprisingly versatile fighter despite it being a very inflexible species. It had no end of tricks up its sleeve and Ash legitimately admired how easily Graveler managed to work around difficult situations. Even a rock type expert like Brock might be impressed by this specimen.

But impressive or not, they had to defeat Graveler before it managed to wreak more havoc with its surprisingly tricky combat abilities.

"Sobek, use Dig!" Ash commanded. "Move around Graveler!"

The Krookodile growled and dove underground, slashing through the dirt with his claws like it wasn't even there. Graveler's beady eyes trailed along the field and he was sure it could sense Sobek's position with the sensitivity to vibrations borne from its ground type attributes. Attacking it directly would be far too easy for the rock type to predict, but it wasn't a direct attack that Ash had in mind.

With moves like Earthquake and Bulldoze out of the question because of their location on the ship, Gary just shrugged as he waited. "Hard Curl, Graveler. Follow its position."

Graveler followed its trainer's commands faithfully and curled up into a ball once again. The field was silent for several seconds as Ash waited for Sobek to achieve his goal.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Graveler's curled body gave way and collapsed, causing the rock type to grunt in surprise. Gary's eyes widened as his Pokemon was trapped in the depression, formed from Sobek's constant tunneling. Ash grinned, watching Graveler unravel its body to grunt and escape the trap. "Crunch!"

Sobek exploded from below ground several feet away and lunged at the rock type mouth agape. Gary hurriedly made to defend his Pokemon. "Rock Tomb!"

Graveler immediately shielded itself in the shell of boulders, which Sobek bit into harshly. The Krookodile managed to crack the stone shield, but Ash had another plan. "Sobek, back off! Stream Incinerate on the rocks!"

His orders were followed without hesitation. Sobek leapt away from Graveler's shield and sucked in a breath before firing Incinerate in the stream-type form. Spitting fireballs wouldn't achieve what Ash was aiming for here- even if the stream possessed less power, it was still incredibly hot. Assuming that the licking flames found their way into the cracks that Sobek had just made with Crunch and heated the boulders enough…

After several seconds, the Rock Tomb began to glow cherry red from heat and Graveler made a grunt of discomfort from within. It wouldn't be terribly hurt by the heat or the flames, but melting rock was another matter entirely. Sobek took another breath and blasted the shield again with fire, essentially turning it into a furnace. Given enough time, the heat would eventually weaken Graveler's stone armor as well.

But Gary figured out Ash's game when the Rock Tomb began to steam and grinned dangerously. "Not bad, but I'm taking that one! Rock Smash!"

Graveler suddenly hammered the steaming Rock Tomb and the result was a burst of superheated rubble that flew at Sobek. The Krookodile let out a roar as the hail of cherry stones pelted his hide and gave him mild burns, but an opportunity had been presented to him and Ash jumped on it. "Stone Edge!"

Sobek slammed his fist into the ground before their opponents could react and a blade of stone crashed upwards into Graveler's hide. The rock type grunted as it was launched into the air, a large crack visible on its armor from where Stone Edge hit, and slammed into the field a moment later. Ash thought it might be unable to battle then, but Graveler proved to be a stubborn one. It slowly pushed itself back up with its four strong arms and faced Sobek once again, despite obviously getting tired.

"Hang in there, Graveler," Gary encouraged his Pokemon, who grunted a response. "Rollout!"

Graveler curled itself into a ball once again and began to roll towards Sobek, building up momentum as it closed the distance. Ash smirked at the rock type's final act of offense. "Foul Play!"

Sobek's claws flashed black as Graveler neared, sneering at his opponent. But when they were just a few meters apart, Gary suddenly snapped. "Grab it!"

Faster than Ash would have thought possible, Graveler uncurled itself and skidded to a stop from the momentum of its own charge. Sobek roared in surprise and slashed at the rock type, but Graveler grabbed both of the Krookodile's arms to immobilize him. When Sobek tried to bite his enemy, Graveler's two free fists came up and punched him in the jaw with enough force to jolt his head back.

Gary was on the momentarily stunned Krookodile like a shark on blood. "Rock Smash!"

Graveler's fists came up glowing bright orange and then it brought the hammers down to crush Sobek's skull with the fighting time move, smashing him into the field hard enough to leave a small crater.

"Sobek!" Ash cried out in shock. But his call landed on unconscious ears as his friend's body slumped to the ground and stilled. He stared at the Krookodile's defeated form in disbelief as Graveler backed off and rolled to Gary's side of the field.

He recovered from Sobek's defeat after a moment and recalled the unconscious dark type. Ash stared at the pokeball for a moment before sighing. "I'm sorry, buddy. I underestimated them. Take a break and I'll turn this around."

Ash set Sobek's pokeball back to his belt and took a deep breath as he looked back up at Gary and Graveler. The rock type was using one of its thick arms to support its weakened body, but Ash knew that behind its deceptively injured state was real strength. The way it had so suddenly defeated Sobek testified to that.

He would not underestimate it again.

"You're up, Eevee!" Ash shouted as he released the normal type onto the field. She was his fifth Pokemon and if he didn't take down Graveler with her, defeating Gary was going to be difficult. He still had Blatoise and another Pokemon whose identity was a mystery to them.

Eevee gazed around the demolished battlefield with only slightly curious eyes and her ears twitched just slightly upon seeing her opponent, who looked half-unconscious already.

"Eevee, don't underestimate it," he warned her. She turned to give him a skeptical look, but he shook his head. "It already beat Jasmine and Sobek."

That was enough to make her stiffen. Eevee wasn't scared of Graveler- far from it. She was even fine with it knocking out Sobek, but she did _not_ appreciate creatures that injured Jasmine. Her eyes swept back to Graveler and turned icy as a hiss built in her throat, promising pain for the rock type.

Gary knew Graveler was on its last legs and immediately went on the offensive. "Stone Edge!"

"Dodge it with Quick Attack!" Ash shouted. Eevee slipped into the attack in a flash and darted around Graveler's much more sluggish Stone Edge without even flinching. She charged towards the rock type in a zig-zag motion to confuse its weakened senses. "Now use Shadow Ball!"

Eevee began to spit Shadow Balls as she rushed Graveler, who threw up a Rock Tomb to defend itself. However, it was running too low on energy and the stone shell wasn't enough to completely block the normal type's viciously powerful Shadow Balls. Two of the ghost type spheres smashed the Rock Tomb into rubble and the third scored a clean hit, stunning Graveler as Eevee closed in on it.

"Iron Tail!" Ash yelled even as Gary commanded Graveler to use Rock Smash.

The rock type had just enough time to lift its arms halfway up before Eevee's Iron Tail smashed it square between the eyes.

Eevee launched herself away from the rock type and landed easily while it crumpled to the ground with a loud thud. She didn't even spare it a glance as she padded back to Ash calmly.

Ash knelt to meet Eevee as she came over and petted her furry head. "Good girl. Thanks for knocking it out."

She chittered softly and leaned into his touch, happy that she'd both pleased her trainer and gotten payback for Jasmine's defeat. Graveler would not soon forget her fury.

Eevee turned back to face Gary as he set Graveler's pokeball back on his belt and withdrew his fifth Pokemon. Ash watched as his rival hurled the device over the field to release its contents, which appeared in a quick flash of light.

Number five for Gary was a large Growlithe, which barked and wagged its tail eagerly upon seeing Eevee. She stared at the creature stonily, unimpressed. The puppy was easily twice her size, but it looked only half as mature as her- probably not even that. It was much too excited for seemingly no reason.

Ash regarded the Growlithe carefully. Despite its seemingly innocent personality, he had no doubt that it was just as battle-tested as the rest of Gary's team. His rival wasn't arrogant enough to use a Pokemon with no battle experience against him in a full battle.

"Be careful," Ash muttered to Eevee. "Don't underestimate it no matter what it does."

Her sensitive ears twitched to show that she'd heard him. Eevee readied herself for battle as Gary made the first move.

"Agility!" Gary ordered. "Use Fire Fang when you get close!"

Growlithe woofed and started to _run_. The puppy was easily faster than anything on Gary's team barring Pidgeot. Ash was actually stunned by how fast it was and almost missed his chance to give Eevee his own command. "Quick Attack! Stay away from it!"

Eevee slipped into Quick Attack in a flash and lunged to the side as Growlithe closed in, although it immediately changed course to pursue her. Its larger paws and longer stride allowed it to cover distance faster than she did and Ash was astounded when it actually caught up with Eevee. "Jump up!"

She leapt straight up as Growlithe made to bite her with its jaws leaking flames, causing the puppy to yelp in surprise as its opponent suddenly disappeared. Ash followed up while Eevee was in the air and had Growlithe's back open to her. "Swift!"

Eevee unleashed a flurry of energy stars, which crashed into Growlithe's back and made the puppy yelp again in addition to tripping it up. Growlithe rolled over the field in a mess of limbs, but it regained its footing quickly and managed to skid to a stop.

Before Eevee could land, Gary ordered another attack. "Flamethrower!"

Growlithe barked as a stream of flame erupted from its jaws and crashed into Eevee just inches from the field. She let out a pained squeal and was sent flying back to Ash's side, where she hit the ground hard. Eevee pushed herself back to her feet and shook herself, then turned to glare at the puppy that was still far too enthusiastic. Its tail was wagging again and it looked stupidly pleased for some reason.

"Shadow Ball!"

"Flame Burst!"

Eevee spat the sphere of ghostly energy just as Growlithe retaliated with a large fireball. The two attacks shot across the field and met halfway, where they collided and exploded violently to create a thick cloud of black smoke. Eevee started to prowl from left to right as she waited for the roiling smoke to dissipate.

Gary, however, had no desire to wait. "Flamethrower! Sweep it over the field!"

All Ash and Eevee heard was another cheerful bark, then a huge river of fire tore through the smoke and swept across from one side to the other. She bristled and didn't need to hear Ash's shout to dodge it by jumping. Eevee lunged towards the source of the Flamethrower and made to leap over the remains of the smoke cloud to get above her enemy, but she didn't expect to find Growlithe jumping at her from the left side.

She could only yelp in surprise as Growlithe caught her in midair as easily as it would catch a frisbee and bit into her shoulders with Fire Fang. Growlithe landed back on the field as flames scorched her fur and made her hiss with pain. She flailed around to escape, but it pinned her with its larger paws and continued to bite.

"Eevee, Shadow Ball!" Ash yelled desperately.

Still writhing to escape, Eevee generated the ghost type move in an instant and let it explode right there. The sudden blast forced Growlithe to release her with a yelp of pain. She was dazed by the explosion as well, but managed to get to her feet while Growlithe retreated back to Gary and watched her curiously. Its tongue lolled out of its mouth as its tail wagged and Eevee growled at how casually it was behaving- the stupid dog was absolutely infuriating.

Ash bit his lip. Eevee had taken a lot of damage in that last exchange and she was obviously getting tired. He needed to finish off Growlithe before it could get in close like that again.

"Hang in there, girl," he called to her. "Shadow Ball!"

"Flamethrower, Growlithe!" Gary countered.

Eevee spat another Shadow Ball even as Growlithe released Flamethrower, which resulted in another explosion of black smoke. She growled as Growlithe began to sweep its Flamethrower across the field again, trying to hit her through the cloud of debris. Eevee was not going to jump again and get caught in the same trap twice.

Instead, she used Quick Attack to speed up and dove under the flames as they swept over her. Eevee lunged towards the source of the fire as it ceased and came out with her fangs bared. Growlithe was just a couple of meters in front of her, but it suddenly blurred to the side with Agility and broadsided her again, this time from the right.

Its jaws were open as it prepared to bite her with Fire Fang and finish the match, but Eevee was not going down like that. She reared up and twisted, presenting Growlithe with her front paws instead of her back. The puppy bit her front right paw and she cried out in pain, but while it was trying to figure out how to adjust its grip, Eevee charged up a Shadow Ball containing all of her remaining strength and fired it right into the stupid dog's face.

There was a huge, shadowy blast and a pained yelp, then the field grew quiet. Ash and Gary watched tensely as the smoke cleared and revealed Growlithe splayed on the ground, unconscious from the point-blank explosion. Eevee was somehow still on her feet, but her legs trembled as she tried to remain standing.

Ash wasn't cruel enough to make her stay on the field in that state even if she was still conscious and recalled her. He smiled softly at the Luxury Ball. "Atta girl, hanging in there. Get some sleep, Eevee."

Gary recalled Growlithe then and Ash took a deep breath. This was it. They each had only one Pokemon remaining.

"You've still got Poliwrath, right?" Gary called over.

"Yeah," he replied. "And your last one is Blastoise."

It wasn't a question, but Gary didn't correct him and only smirked. "Like there could be another option. Let's find out which one of our water types is stronger!"

Ash grinned back. "Remember that you asked for it! You're the last one, Douse!"

He hurled his last pokeball into the air to release the Poliwrath within. Douse appeared on the ravaged battlefield with his bulky arms crossed and stared at their opponent calmly as the boy tossed his own pokeball up for a moment.

"It's all or nothing, Blastoise!" Gary declared as the massive turtle burst onto the field and bellowed a challenge. Blastoise's hydro cannons were freed from their confines by a section of his shell that naturally opened up and fired jets of water high into the air, a simple display of his great power.

"Ice Beam!" They commanded.

Bright blue light glowed from within Blastoise's cannons and a moment later, the massive turtle fired two blasts of icy energy at Douse, which the Poliwrath mimicked by firing his own Ice Beam. The trio of freezing rays met in the center of the field and quickly formed a large mass of ice, blocking their view of the enemy.

Ash wanted to get the advantage early on here and followed up quickly. "Brick Break! Destroy the ice!"

Douse charged across the field, his short form possessing surprising speed as he blitzed towards the ice in a matter of seconds and smashed it while his fist glowed dark orange. The ice shattered instantly and was sent flying over Gary's side of the field, although Blastoise weathered the hail easily. He only dodged one chunk by momentarily withdrawing his head into his shell.

Gary grinned. "Skull Bash!"

Blastoise's head popped back out and he crouched for a moment before launching his huge body forward with a burst of strength from his short, stocky legs.

"Mega Punch!" Ash countered.

Douse kept rushing Blastoise and the glow of his fist changed from orange to white as he shifted attacks. He brought his arm back and then punched forward to meet Blastoise's Skull Bash head-on, the force of which generated a shock wave between the two powerful water types. Though they pushed against each other for several seconds, their strength appeared to be even and eventually the pair shoved each other back.

They skidded several meters away from one another and it was here that Gary took control. "Rapid Clone!"

Blastoise immediately retreated into his shell and several illusory clones appeared around him as he began to spin quickly. The array of huge, spinning shells began to move towards Douse as they spread out to box him into one spot. Ash narrowed his eyes at the technique and ordered his friend to neutralize the confusing maneuver. "Hydro Pump! Mow them down!"

Douse reared back and unleashed a blast of high-pressure water, turning as he fired the huge stream to strafe down the clones. Several of the illusory Blastoise were quickly eradicated until the Hydro Pump slammed into the real one, causing the remaining Double Team clones to disappear whilst also slowing Rapid Spin.

Blastoise was too close to dodge by this point though and Douse braced himself as the huge turtle crashed into him, although it had been slowed enough that he was able to absorb the damage without much trouble. But as Ash began to order a counterattack, Blastoise popped out of his shell and suddenly bit Douse's arm. The Poliwrath grunted in pain as his foe hurled him up high into the air.

"Get your balance!" Ash shouted to his friend. "Body Slam!"

Douse managed to twist and right himself as he fell, using his momentum in tandem with gravity to come down on Blastoise as the turtle stood back up. The massive water type didn't even have time to look up before Douse's body crashed into him, stunning him for a moment. Douse quickly leapt to the ground and drove a Mega Punch into the center of Blastoise's shelled chest, which packed enough force to send the huge turtle skidding almost all the way back to Gary's side.

Blastoise came to a stop with a low grunt and leered at Douse with narrowed eyes, but Gary made a move to get his starter back in the game. "Ice Beam!"

"Melt it with Scald!" Ash commanded.

The freezing rays from Blastoise's twin cannons met Douse's blast of steaming water, which cancelled each other out and caused a huge eruption of steam to spread over the field. Ash tensed as Gary and Blastoise disappeared behind the haze. "Douse, get ready."

The Poliwrath was silent as they waited for their foe to appear. All was quiet for a moment and then-

-a dozen Blastoise's burst through the steam cloud and charged Douse with Rapid Spin. Ash bit back a curse. They were too close for Douse to mow down in his current position, so he changed it up. "Jump and use Hydro Pump! Find the real one!"

Douse leapt up as high as he could, narrowly avoiding one of the spinning shells. He fired Hydro Pump in another powerful stream, blowing apart the clones one by one until only one remained. He blasted that one as well, but to his and Ash's surprise, the last Blastoise vanished. It was the only warning they got before Gary's shout was heard through the remnants of the steam cloud.

"Aura Sphere!"

Douse had just touched the ground when a sphere of intense blue energy blew apart the steam and slammed into him, generating a large explosion. The Poliwrath grunted in pain as he was sent flipping back and landed roughly on his back, though he rolled over and got back up a moment later to glare at Blastoise. The huge turtle and his trainer were grinning at Ash and Douse, smug with their mastery over Blastoise's egg move.

Ash simply smiled. They still had a chance to win this.

"Skull Bash!" Gary shouted, prompting Blastoise to lunge at Douse again as the Poliwrath got back into a fighting stance.

"Mega Punch!"

Douse readied his fist as Blastoise drew close and took the blow, digging his feet into the ground to absorb the attack as best he could. Before Blastoise could back off, Douse smashed his fist into the massive turtle's face and forced his enemy's head to jerk back. The Poliwrath followed by delivering another vicious punch to Blastoise's shell, in the same place where he'd struck before. He was rewarded by a cracking sound and a bellow of pain from the larger water type.

Blastoise was again sent skidding back, clenching its clawed feet to come to a stop, but it fired an Aura Sphere as it was repelled. Ash quickly made to counter the attack this time. "Wake-Up Slap! Crush it!"

Both of Douse's huge, white hands glowed as he spread his arms out and slammed his palms together to crush Aura Sphere between them. The destroyed move still released a shock wave, but it was completely nullified by Douse's strength as the Poliwrath glared at Blastoise, unfazed.

"Are you kidding me!?" Gary's jaw actually dropped. "Fine, use Rapid Clone again!"

Blastoise once more retreated into his shell and used Double Team in tandem with Rapid Spin, launching itself at Douse. Again, the Poliwrath mowed them down with Hydro Pump and found the real Blastoise, blasting it directly. The massive turtle was unperturbed however and spun on to drive his heavy shell into Douse's body.

Before Douse was launched into the air, however, his hands shot out to grab the ridge of the turtle's shell, bringing him along for the ride. Blastoise was still spinning and the pair of water types were carried into the air by the momentum of Blastoise's attack and the blow that Douse had taken. They spun chaotically for a moment as Ash yelled up at them. "Use Circle Throw!"

Circle Throw wasn't an energy technique as much as a simple maneuver where the user spun and threw the opponent. Ash hadn't even trained Douse how to use it, but the concept was natural for practically every Poliwrath there was.

Hearing his trainer's call, Douse gripped Blastoise's shell tightly and heaved backwards, gaining control of their chaotic movement with his great power. The Poliwrath twisted and used his bulky arms to hurl Blastoise towards the field, where the turtle's shell crashed into the ground hard. Blastoise's limbs were forced out of his carapace from the impact and left him stunned for a moment as Douse fell back to earth.

Ash clenched his fist tightly. "Brick Break!"

Orange energy consumed Douse's right fist as he flipped forward to build momentum, then hammered Blastoise's chin so that his skull was punched into the dirt and drove the lower half of the turtle's body up in the air. Douse stood back up and watched his foe's massive frame collapse, having been instantly knocked out by the devastating blow.

Gary looked stunned as he recalled his starter and Ash blinked. He didn't really know what was supposed to happen now-

"And that's it!" Angela's excited voice suddenly broke into his dazed mind, which had been focused entirely on the battle. "After an intense match, Ash has won thanks to his powerful Poliwrath!"

The watching spectators cheered loudly and Ash felt a grin slowly make its way onto his face. He'd won.

He'd won!

"Douse!" He exclaimed excitedly. The Poliwrath turned to face his trainer, looking tired, but exceptionally pleased with himself. "You did it! We won, buddy!"

Douse pounded a fist against his round body and grunted cheerfully. Ash grinned at his friend and rushed over to the Poliwrath, taking care to avoid all of the rubble that had been created throughout the battle. He reached Douse and placed a hand on the water type's muscular shoulder. "I knew you could do it. I'm proud of you, Douse. You did an amazing job."

His friend merely dipped his head slightly and turned when Gary walked over to them.

Ash's rival was scratching the back of his head. "Well, I guess I lost that one. It was still a pretty good fight, huh?"

"I'll say," Ash agreed, holding his hand out. "We'll have to do it again sometime."

Gary smirked and shook the offered hand. "Well duh. I've still gotta kick your ass at the Indigo League!"

Ash snorted. "Only in your dreams."

* * *

When all was said and done, Ash, Gary, and Leaf were given their rewards for placing high in the tournament by Captain Briney, who made a brief showing at the ravaged battlefield to present the trainers with their prizes. The reward ceremony was quick and before too long, the trio were back in Ash and Gary's cabin after dropping off their Pokemon at the healing station. Fortunately, none of their Pokemon had been too badly injured and would make full recoveries before long.

Now the trio were sitting across from each other on the floor of the cabin, staring at their prizes.

Leaf had defeated Persephone in a tiebreaker battle the night before and got the third place prize, which consisted of five Great Balls and a TM Voucher, which was little more than a ticket that could be exchanged for any TM in the St. Anne's Technical Machine Market.

For winning second place, Gary had won five Ultra Balls and two TM Vouchers. The boy looked exceptionally pleased with his success even if he hadn't taken the grand prize, which was currently in front of Ash.

As the winner of the entire St. Anne Tournament, Ash had won three TM Vouchers and the mystery Pokemon from the Unova region. He had no idea what it was and frankly, it wasn't even registered to him yet. He'd have to send the Pokemon over to Professor Oak to officially make it his, not to mention he couldn't have more than six Pokemon on-hand anyways. He could meet it now, but he couldn't legally carry it with him unless he swapped out one of his current team.

He didn't want to swap any of them right now. They'd worked hard to win this for him and he wanted to let them all know that before he sent one of them to Professor Oak. Rotating Pokemon was going to be an entirely new experience for them all.

But for now…

"Well, don't leave us hanging," Gary snapped at his friend with a large grin on his face. "Set it loose!"

Ash eyed the capture device on the floor, which was a pure white pokeball- a Premier Ball, he recalled. They weren't much different from a regular pokeball, aside from the color and slightly more professional appearance.

He picked up the Premier Ball and enlarged the device, preparing himself to meet the Pokemon inside. "Alright, here goes nothing."

Ash tapped the release and watched as light spilled out from within the Premier Ball, unleashing its contents. The light coalesced into a small form that finally appeared in the middle of the young trainers.

The little creature stared at Ash and he stared right back.

He honestly had no idea what he was looking at, but it was actually really cute. It reminded him of a white Teddiursa, with pale blue fur covering its head. It had large ears for its size and big, black eyes, along with a small black nose that seemed to be running a lot.

"Hi, there," Ash began. The cub tilted its head at him and made a little whine, which blew cool air over his face. He shivered slightly and guessed that it had to be an ice type of some kind. "I'm Ash. I'm your trainer now."

That went right over its head, as the cub seemed to frown and tilted its head further. Leaf covered her mouth to quiet a giggle and glanced at Ash. "Maybe you should scan it with the Pokedex to find out what its called?"

"Oh, yeah," he mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed. Ash pulled his Pokedex out of his pocket and held it up to the cub, explaining the device to it when the small creature stared at it curiously. "This is just going to tell me a little bit about you, okay? You don't have to do anything."

The cub nodded and took to staring around the room while the Pokedex scanned it, giving Ash insight into his new Pokemon. He waited as the device beeped and began to recite information in the usual, female voice.

 _Cubchoo, the Chill Pokemon. Its nose is always running and the snot is a barometer of health. If Cubchoo is healthy, their snot is sticky and their ice moves are strong. When it is not feeling well, the snot becomes watery. Cubchoo grow strong by playing in cold temperatures and swimming in ice water._

 _This Cubchoo is male and knows the moves: Growl, Icy Wind, Fury Swipes, Brine, Endure, Slash, and Rest. Its ability is Snow Cloak, which helps camouflage Cubchoo in hailstorms._

Ash couldn't have been happier. Ice types were rare in Kanto and if what Captain Briney had said was true, then Cubchoo would eventually evolve into a powerful Pokemon. He was eager to get to know the small creature and begin training with him, but for the time being, it would be best to simply help Cubchoo get to know him.

He held his hand out to get Cubchoo's attention and the little cub sniffed the offered limb for a moment before staring up at Ash. The little ice type seemed confused and Ash helped out by gently running his fingers through the cub's thick fur, stroking Cubchoo soothingly. Cubchoo squeaked in surprise, but gradually settled into the attention and even leaned into Ash's touch. It seemed that the cub approved of this, at least.

"We're going to be spending a lot of time with each other from now on, Cubchoo," Ash explained gently. "I'll take care of you as best I can, alright? I promise."

Cubchoo merely blinked at him with his big, black eyes.

* * *

The room was dark. If someone didn't know that there were others inside, they would likely feel completely alone. A long, luxurious table of lacquered wood took up the center of the space, with expensive chairs lining it on either side. At each end were a pair of larger chairs, which looked fit for a king. As aforementioned, the lighting in the room was dim, but there were bright lights shining down to illuminate each seat at the table.

"Ugh," Proton scowled. "Who called this meeting again?"

The Rocket Admin was tapping his fingers incessantly on the left end of the table nearest the back wall. Although the table itself could hold up to twenty people, this meeting was strictly for the highest commanders of Team Rocket. Not even their most trusted lieutenants were privy to the information they were about to discuss.

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Petrel smirked at his colleague from across the table. "Or have you actually forgotten his name?"

"Of course it was rhetorical, Mr. Mohawk," Proton's scowl deepened. "But if he's the one who called for it, why the hell is he the one who's late?! I've got work to do!"

Arianna, who was leaning against one of the dark walls behind Petrel, rolled her eyes. "Oh, give it a rest, Proton. He's your superior officer and you know full well why he's late. He's even busier than you are."

Proton crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair. "Fuckin' stupid. Calling us all here like this at the last minute…what's he cooking up in that big head of his this time?"

Petrel shrugged. "Well, if it wasn't important, he wouldn't have called us. He's not one to waste time, if you recall."

"He's wasting _my_ time," the military Admin retorted.

"Can you just shut up already?" Arianna leered at him. "Your complaining is going to make me lose brain cells."

Proton sneered back and snatched a pokeball from his belt to start tossing it up and down. "You wanna go, lady? You might be some genius scientist, but I remember how our last sparring match went. Your Pokemon aren't Admin quality fighters."

The red-haired woman scowled at him and set a hand on her hip to touch her own pokeballs. "Remind me to test Subject Four's combat ability on you first."

"And there's another reminder of why you can't handle being an Admin!" Proton snapped. "Subject Four? What about Subjects One, Two, and Three?! What happened to them, huh?!"

"Your ignorance is testing the limits of my patience," Arianna snarled. "You were the one who let those brats get to Subject Three in the first place, you simpleton!"

"What was that?!" Proton stood up with a deadly glower on his face. Between them, Petrel simply smirked and watched his colleagues go at each others' throats.

Before they could get into a full-blown argument, the two large doors swung inwards. A tall man stood between them and walked inside the room, casting his icy gaze across the Admins. The look was enough to diffuse the brewing fight, but not enough to reduce Proton's hostility.

"Well look who finally showed up?" The military Admin growled. "Did you finish your homework?"

The man leveled his cold eyes at Proton and said nothing. Proton glared back, but he knew as well as anyone that his superior officer was considerably stronger than any of them. He backed down, albeit reluctantly.

Petrel grinned like a fox as the two other Admins were quelled and faced the leader of the Rocket Admins. "So, you have news for us? Your message sounded urgent."

"I do," the man confirmed, walking up to the table to take the head seat closest to the door. As he took his seat, the light from the ceiling revealed his features. He wore a white suit, immaculate and clean, with a black breast pocket that had the standard symbol of Team Rocket emblazoned on it. His skin was pale, showing that he spent the majority of his time indoors, but there was a steel in his dark eyes that warranted wariness. His hair was an unusual teal color, which matched Proton's, although that was where the similarities ended.

Arianna took a seat beside Petrel and settled there, ignoring Proton's brief glare in her direction. "What's happened?"

"I have a task requiring Proton and Petrel's skills," he replied, leaning his elbow on the table. "You two are to assault the St. Anne tomorrow night before it reaches Cinnabar Island."

Proton's scowl returned. "You called me here for a shit mission like that?! Just throw a hundred grunts at it, they'll take it down!"

"Were we simply after the ship and its Pokemon, I would do so," the man said calmly. "However, I received a tip from one of our spies who visited Vermillion City a few days ago. As I understand it, two of the three children that attacked our base in Celadon have boarded the vessel."

The scowl faded instantly and was replaced by a dangerous smile. "Oh _really?_ Please tell me more, Archer."

"Your job is simple," he went on. "Destroy the ship and steal any Pokemon you can. If you encounter those children, ensure that they follow the St. Anne to a watery grave. I will not tolerate any further interference from them. Disrupting our affairs at Mt. Moon and Lavender Town were disagreeable enough. Their break-in and subsequent capture of our base at Celadon was the final straw. Under no circumstances are those children to be allowed to reach Cinnabar Island."

Arianna raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like I'll be increasing security at the base there, then."

"Do not," Archer replied. "Higher levels of activity could tip off the local Gym Leader. He's already difficult enough to track as it is and I rather prefer him to be aloof of our research. Keep a tight lid on the base and stay under the radar. Remain there until I send further orders to you. The progress of Subject Four is slower than is acceptable."

"Subject Four," Proton mused irritably. "Why have we already gone through three of those things? Our scientists have been very incompetent so far. Do you have any idea how much effort I had to make to get the genetic material for your experiments in the first place?"

Arianna rolled her eyes. "Since you obviously don't read the reports I send to you, let me iterate. I'll use small words so that your neanderthal brain can comprehend them."

Proton looked ready to spit, but she ignored his ire. "Subject One was just a trial run. Its entire purpose was to prove that genetically engineering the material you retrieved was possible. It never left its test tank, but it was a success because the formula we designed worked. That first creation was a huge step forward."

"Subject Two," she chewed her lip for a moment. "Did not possess the higher intelligence that we wished for. Seeing as we had enough material left over for three other specimens, we gave it to one of our mutual benefactors. Its purpose is no longer relevant for Team Rocket. We used the data we gathered from it to better create the remaining three."

"Subject Three, the one that was destroyed in Celadon, is also irrelevant," Archer broke in smoothly. "Of the remaining three creations for Project: Origin, it was the least refined and so its security was somewhat laxer than the other two. Although I still deem it unacceptable that it was destroyed by mere _children_."

His voice grew icily soft, making the Admins uneasy. Archer's eyes were like chips of ice. "Under no circumstances are the remaining two Subjects allowed to be lost. Their progress is imperative to the success of Team Rocket. With their power, we can bring the whole of Kanto under our reign, and then its only a matter of time before Johto falls. Security for Subjects Four and Five is to be airtight. I don't want to hear any of that information leaving the mouths of mere grunts again. _Am I understood?"_

"Yes, sir," the three Admins replied without hesitating.

Archer nodded slightly. "Good. Then you have your orders. Proton, Petrel, assault the St. Anne and get rid of those children. If nothing else, make sure they do not leave that vessel alive. Arianna, go to Cinnabar and hold the base, but also ensure that development for Subject Four is put back on schedule."

"What about yourself?" Petrel prompted.

"I am going to HQ," he responded. "The Black Rose has returned from her latest mission and two of our other elite spies were just debriefed. I shall be sending them on another mission immediately to retrieve further data for Project: Origin."

"Further data?" Proton raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it too late for that if they're already in development?"

"Not in this case," Archer assured him and Arianna nodded to back him up. "We still have some months before iteration is complete and there's ample time to integrate this new data into their development. Also, another of our benefactors will be assisting us. They're currently running experimental trials for the new data in their labs."

Petrel sighed. "Well, there go my three favorite lieutenants. It seems I'll be overworking myself for a while. Exactly where are you sending them?"

"The Kalos Region."

* * *

 **A/N: Good grief this chapter was ridiculously huge. 34K words! As a result of how big this chapter is, I've actually had to expand the St. Anne arc into another chapter. However, the next chapter will conclude this arc and lead us into future of the story! The OCs for this chapter, Persephone and Katherine, belong to xxBurlesquexx and animal lover13 respectively! Congrats, you two! This concludes the St. Anne tournament, but there's a lot more coming! Now, onto the review responses for chapter fourteen!**

 **Uranium235:** **Not bad. I'm really interested in seeing what the Pokémon is that Ash gets at the end of the tournament. I am assuming that Ash will win of course. I think it's going to be either a Zorua or a Deino. There was something I forgot to mention in my last review. Every time Ash gets extremely angry, which usually happens again Team Rocket, I always hope that his Aura would flare. I can't help but feel a little upset that you aren't going the route. I was also hoping the Pokémon the winner of the tournament would get could be a Riolu, but apparently not since It's from Unova.** **That being said, I am looking forward to the next chapter.**

 **-Surprise! It's a Cubchoo ^_^ The reason why I'm not doing Aura in this story is because for me personally, it's too overused and just wouldn't flow well for me or my story. It's just not my style, y'know?**

 **Clow Angel: Thank you for the update. That last battle was great. I love your increasingly long chapters as well. It gives me something to read while I'm commuting. And lemme tell ya, it gets mighty awkward just staring into space on a NYC train with nothing to do.**

 **-I'm glad you liked it! The increasingly longer chapters aren't actually on purpose- the surge of battles in the last few chapters have just prolonged them more than I originally expected, hence why I have to extend the St. Anne arc. I can't say I've ever had to commute by train, but I imagine reading something is a lot better than just staring around! I hope this chapter gives you something to read on your next commute as well!**

 **Blue is the Sea: Nice to see this amazingly satisfying update. You've got me super excited for the conclusion of the tournament and I don't know whether to express my rage at that mean cliffhanger or praise at how much you stuffed into this chapter. Ash's team is coming along nicely and it will be fun seeing in what ways they develop. I'm rooting for Ash to win the tournament; its been to long since I've seen a fic where Ash wins an Anne's tournament and I'm curious what pokemon you made the prize. Kudos to you for the update, I think your almost the only Pokemon author I've seen update in September and most of August so my Pokemon fix has only been sated by sparse reveals of Pokemon Sun and Moon- definitely getting Moon for Oranguru.** **Thanks for the chapter and I look forward to your next update!**

 **-Well, hopefully you can find a way to praise the massive battles I stuffed into this chapter without getting too angry about this cliffhanger lol. As for the tournament, we have victory! Yay~ I'm also getting Pokemon Moon, but I haven't decided on my team yet!**

 **Smashgunner: I can't wait for the next chapter! But I don't have a choice!**

 **-Wait no longer! Except now there's another chapter to wait on...ehehe...**

 **As always, please review and thanks for reading! Look forward to the next chapter!**


	16. The Burning

_Chapter Sixteen: The Burning_

Ash couldn't hold back a laugh as he watched Cubchoo charge around the room, chasing Leaf's Teddiursa with playful growls. The pair were scurrying all over the floor on their four, stubby legs, having become swift friends since they were introduced. Gary and Leaf had gone to trade in their TM Vouchers at the Technical Machine mart and Ash had decided to remain in the cabin so that he could spend more time with Cubchoo before he had to transfer him to Professor Oak.

Unfortunately, he wasn't allowed to have more than six Pokemon on-hand at the moment. Only trainers recognized by the League and given a permit were allowed to carry more than that. At the Indigo Conference, their limits would all be temporarily removed so that trainers could work with their entire team, but on the road, the cap remained active.

He didn't like it, but there was nothing he could do about it, either. Ash would just have to enjoy his time with Cubchoo as long as he could here and form a good first impression. Besides, it wasn't like he wouldn't see the cub for a while. After the St. Anne docked in Cinnabar, he, Gary, and Leaf were making straight for Pallet Town. There, he could have his whole team together without having to keep one away from the others.

He snorted in laughter as Cubchoo caught Teddiursa and the pair rolled over the floor together, growling playfully. Ash had to admit he was surprised by size difference between them. Neither of them were particularly large and both were healthy, young Pokemon, but Teddiursa just lacked the bulk that Cubchoo had. If he had to guess, Teddiursa was probably about twenty pounds and Cubchoo was about thirty. He put it up to Cubchoo likely being a bit older than Teddirusa and their breeds.

While Cubchoo and Teddiursa played, Ash had taken a few minutes to research the newest member of his team in the Pokedex. He already knew that Teddiursa evolved into Ursaring, which were massive normal types that relied on their hulking muscles to attack and shrug off attacks. They were fierce predators in the wild who stuck mostly to mountainous regions and forests, primarily congregating around Mt. Silver with their cubs. The females were especially aggressive when they were defending their offspring and the males were no better- they were fiercely territorial at the worst of times and grew much larger. The biggest male Ursaring could stand over six feet tall when they reared up and weighed over three hundred pounds.

But Beartic got even _bigger_.

Their species lived in the cold north seas, swimming between islands of land and ice. They hunted Dewgong and Walrein herds to survive- as a result, their diet was almost completely carnivorous, as opposed to Ursaring who thrived on both meat and vegetables. Apparently, they were even known to dive over eighty feet in the frigid waters to hunt Shellder and the occasional Cloyster. Their massive claws and terribly powerful jaw muscles could make short work of tough shells, prying them open to get at the fleshy innards.

Occasionally, Beartic would swim to the shores north Unova and roam the forests and caves there, but that was mostly in the spring when the mothers had just woken up from their hibernation to care for their cubs. Adolescents would roam the woods where food was easy to find and they didn't have to compete with the massive, adult Beartic in the northern ocean. Most trainers and breeders captured Cubchoo and Beartic during this time, although they all avoided the overprotective mothers who would kill if they felt their cubs were threatened.

Female Beartic were big enough- they could match a male Ursaring for height and weight on average. The males were absolutely enormous. The largest male Beartic stood over eight feet tall when they reared up and weighed a colossal nine hundred pounds. Such a beast would be as large as the average Dragonite, and Beartic didn't even have the weight of a tail or thick scales on their bodies. They were pure muscle with a thick layer of blubber to keep warm and a coat of fur several inches long to fight off the freezing waters they lived in.

Ash could honestly say that he couldn't wait to train Cubchoo and help him to reach that point. If he ever attained such size, he didn't think much would be capable of taking him in a battle of power unless they were significantly stronger than he was or held a type advantage.

Of course, that was the future. For now, he needed to bond with the cub and train him. Cubchoo wouldn't evolve into a monstrous Beartic if Ash sat back and twiddled his thumbs.

"Hey, Cubchoo," Ash called to get the cub's attention. Cubchoo looked up from his scrabble with Teddiursa and Ash couldn't help but smirk when the ice type held his normal type friend down with a single paw, much to Teddiursa's chagrin. "How about a treat?"

Cubchoo's round ears flicked a little at that. He tilted his head curiously and sniffed the air as Ash got up and walked to his bag, picking out a Yache berry for the cub. Jasmine had decimated the population of her favorite treat, but fortunately, a few still remained. Hopefully, she wouldn't notice the loss.

A little voice in the back of his mind whispered that Jasmine would figure out one of her delectable goodies was missing.

Cubchoo eyed the berry with interest as Ash approached him and offered the treat to the ice type. He considered it for a moment, sniffing to figure out what it was and took an experimental lick. His eyes glowed slightly and then the cub practically inhaled the berry, devouring it in one large bite. Cubchoo made a pleased whine and Ash smiled at him, taking the chance to ruffle the fur atop his head. The little bear liked that.

Eventually, an indignant squeak from Teddiursa diverted the ice type's attention back to his playmate and then they were wrestling again while Ash looked on, amused more than anything.

* * *

About an hour later, Ash had brought Cubchoo with him to the Technical Machine mart before they dropped by the Pokemon Transfer System, where Ash would send his newest friend to Professor Oak where the ice type could be officially registered as his. Cubchoo preferred running around by his feet despite Ash's offer to carry him, which the boy assumed had been refused because they were still getting to know one another.

Once Leaf and Gary had returned to the cabin, the latter of his friends informed Ash that his Pokemon were likely ready to be picked up from the healing station. Gary had retrieved his own Pokemon already, so Ash decided that he could pick up his team after dropping Cubchoo off. He wanted them all to meet their new ally, but it would be better to do that at Pallet Town when they actually had more time to interact.

So for now, he was spending a bit more time with Cubchoo before the cub had to go to Professor Oak's lab.

Ash chewed his lip thoughtfully as he considered the many TMs lining the walls. He had three TM Vouchers for winning the Tournament, which meant he could pick out an equal number of moves for free. The challenge lay in figuring out which moves would be best to pick out at this point.

He'd already decided that he needed to get some moves that would help his team enhance their abilities. Ash had gotten about as far on brute strength as was possible to get and it was time to refine his Pokemon and their move sets. Oh, they still needed to improve their power- veteran trainers in the Indigo Conference would boast Pokemon that could likely sweep most of his team- but he also had to start applying more strategy to his fighting style.

That was why he'd made the choice to get only one move that was for actual attacking. Ash had thought long and hard about which move he wanted, but eventually, the choice was obvious to him- Dragon Claw.

He'd been wanting to get that move ever since Celadon. Sobek and Pyro, not to mention Jasmine once she fully evolved would be able to make great use of the relatively simple dragon type move. All it consisted of was using said energy to deal an especially powerful slash. Since it was spread over a relatively small area of the body- as opposed to Dragon Rush, which required the user to be completely enveloped by the energy- it was considered to be one of the easiest dragon type moves to learn.

That was the theory, anyway. Ash hoped it was an accurate one.

With his singular offensive move selected, Ash went about deciding on the other two moves, which would be enhancing techniques. Eevee needed something to enhance her evasion since she wasn't quite as bulky as the rest of his team and Spectre could likely use a similar technique since he was the slowest when he wasn't using Shadow Sneak.

After seeing Gary put Double Team to such effective use, Ash ended up selecting that one. It would give Eevee and Spectre a new evasive technique and perhaps he could teach it to Sobek as well. The croc desperately needed something that would give him a tactical edge. His move pool solely consisted of attacking moves right now and while that had worked for him in the past, the recent battle with Gary proved it was no longer enough. If Sobek had possessed something in his arsenal that could have distracted Graveler, he might have been able to win.

The last move was tricky for Ash. Now that he had Cubchoo, he kind of wanted to deviate from his original plan and get the permanent copy of the Ice Beam TM. He had once purchased a one-time use version for Douse, but that was obviously no longer usable. Although Ash hadn't seen what his newest Pokemon was capable of, Cubchoo lacked an attack powerful enough to match him with the rest of the team. His move set was kind of small as well and Ash was very tempted to get something to juice it up a bit.

In the end, he decided against it for the time being. Ash wanted to get an idea of where Cubchoo was power-wise before he started giving him TMs. Besides, Ice Beam would probably be an easy move for him to learn if Douse taught him- being an Ice Type and all, Ash suspected the cub would pick it up quickly. That would also present a chance for him to bond with the rest of the team.

He mentally ran through his upcoming training plans as he struggled to decide on the third TM. Pyro and Sobek would be learning Dragon Claw. Eevee, Spectre, and Sobek would be receiving Double Team. He had already decided to wait on Cubchoo, but Douse and Jasmine both lacked a new move to learn. His mind latched onto the latter pair as he ran through the Pokedex to assess their current moves.

Douse was much like the other power-oriented members of his team. He had a wide variety of attacking moves, but lacked any enhancing, evasive, or defensive techniques. Ash wanted to eventually teach him Rain Dance, but that would take a lot of time and he could learn it naturally. Another technique to look into was Bulk Up, which he was really considering. Bulk Up was a fighting type move which pumped the user's muscles full of natural hormones to make them swell and become hard. As a result, it increased their physical power and had the added bonus of making the Pokemon's body tougher so that they could take a bit more damage.

It was an interesting prospect, he had to admit. Douse already hit really hard, but if he had an extra surge of power on top of increased defenses, he'd be absolutely deadly. Before Ash decided though, his thoughts trailed to the final member of his team.

Jasmine was a bit of a dilemma for Ash. Her move set was more balanced than anyone else on the team- she had techniques to attack up close and at range, immobilize opponents, enhance her speed, and even defend herself against status ailments. He kind of wanted her to learn another long range move, but as far as other techniques went, he couldn't think of anything for the time being besides another method of defense and maybe a way to increase her attack power.

He tapped his foot in thought as he considered the dragon type. The boy would have liked for her to learn Ice Beam and Thunderbolt, which would provide her with further firepower at range. It would also supply her with a way for him to deal with water types, towards whom the majority of his team currently held a large weakness.

Ash frowned as that went through his head. He really needed to catch some new Pokemon for better type coverage.

After thinking to the point that Cubchoo prodded his leg to find out what was taking so long, Ash finally decided. He was going to get Douse Bulk Up and work on teaching Jasmine and Cubchoo Ice Beam at Pallet Town. At some point, he'd get his hands on other moves for them, but this would suffice for now. Besides, they'd be working on a lot more than just attacks while they were at home.

He brought his selection of TMs to the clerk and turned in the vouchers to get them for free. Once the moves were safely installed into his TM Case, Ash made his way to the healing station. The area was practically a mini Pokemon Center, containing both video phones and a transfer machine. Ash called up Professor Oak as soon as one of the phones was free, though there was a short wait.

Oak picked up relatively quickly. It was late- the sun had just dipped under the horizon outside. Although Ash knew that the Professor worked into the night on his various research projects, he wanted to have this conversation sooner than later.

Cubchoo stared at the screen with a curious look on his face as Oak answered and brightened at the sight of the boy. "Ah! Hello there, Ash! I was expecting a call from you."

"Gary told you how the tournament went, then?"

"Mm," Oak nodded sagely as his eyes fell to observe the cub in Ash's arms, which caused his brow to rise. "He informed me that you ended up winning, but he failed to mention what kind of Pokemon it was that you received. A Cubchoo…well, color me surprised."

Ash blinked. "Huh?"

"You and I are going to have to talk about this little one when you get back to the lab," Oak murmured, a slight frown on his face. Ash grew legitimately concerned for a moment until the elder smiled at him. "Ah- it's nothing too serious, I assure you. Simply a matter of housing."

"Housing?"

"As I said, something that we'll discuss later. For the time being, I assume you need to send me one of your Pokemon? You're not authorized to have more than six on hand."

He nodded. "I know. I was going to ask if you could take Cubchoo for a bit. I mean, we'll be there in a few days, but the rest of my team is still recovering from the fight and I still have to thank them for their hard work."

Cubchoo looked up at him with a slight whine in his throat, obviously a little wary about being sent off to a stranger for the second time in a day. Ash smiled at the cub a little sadly. "It's okay, Cubchoo. It's only going to be for a couple of days and then I'll get to see you again. I promise, okay? Then you'll get to meet the rest of the team and have lots of fun."

"Besides, Professor Oak isn't so bad," Ash grinned up at the old man when Cubchoo didn't appear convinced. "He's got a lot of food."

That certainly got Cubchoo's attention and the cub suddenly looked much more interested in the old man. Oak rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, I'll make sure he eats enough. Delia will likely spend some time with him as well. She finished our most recent breeding project between Fearow and Skarmory a week ago and I've been meaning to give her a few days off."

Ash's grin widened. "See, Cubchoo? You'll get to meet my mom. She's makes the best food in the world."

He was almost drooling at the thought of her cooking. Ash's mother could have probably worked for the finest restaurants in Kanto if she wasn't more interested in Pokemon research. Cubchoo gave his new trainer a quizzical stare, apparently wondering what all the fuss was about. Oak cracked a smile.

"Well then, are you ready?" The Professor prompted, snapping the boy's attention away from food and back onto himself. "I've still got work to do. Your mother has been trying to put together a-"

"-don't you DARE finish that sentence, Samuel Oak!"

The old man's mouth instantly went white and clammed up at the sound of Delia yelling down the hall. Cubchoo looked startled and Ash had an eyebrow raised, but the Professor hurriedly reassured them. "It's nothing! Slip of the tongue! Come on, let's get the transfer going!"

Ash nodded, still staring at the old man confusedly. He made his way over to the transfer machine, still holding Cubchoo. The cub seemed to be a little nervous, but Ash quickly reassured him. "It's okay, Cubchoo. I promise I'll see you again really soon, okay? My mom and the Professor are nice people. They'll take great care of you until I get back home."

Cubchoo whined a bit. Ash smiled and pulled out a Yache berry that he'd snuck out of his pack earlier and chuckled when the cub delightedly ate the treat. "Next time I see you, you'll get to meet the whole team. How does that sound?"

The cub only nodded, still chewing on his treat. Ash ruffled the ice type's fur and then recalled him into his Premier Ball, which he placed on the transfer machine. He'd never actually used this before, but all he had to do was link the machine with the one in Professor Oak's office, which was designated by he telephone number. The sync took just a minute and then Cubchoo was gone, disappearing in a flash of white light.

Ash returned to the video phone and waited a few seconds before the Professor appeared again, now holding Cubchoo's Premier Ball in his hand. "It went off without a hitch. I'll take good care of him, Ash."

"Thanks, Professor," Ash said gratefully. "I'll see you in a few days."

"Of course. Please give Gary and Leaf my-"

-suddenly, the video phone cut off and went black. Ash blinked in surprise, but he figured that maybe the Professor had accidentally hung up before he could finish his sentence. The boy shrugged and made his way over to Nurse Joy, who looked tired, but was otherwise smiling pleasantly like normal.

"Hello! I assume you're here to pick up your Pokemon?" She prompted.

Ash nodded. "Yeah. How were they?"

"Minor injuries only," Joy assured him. The Nurse went on as she placed a tray on the desk that was lined with all six of Ash's pokeballs. "I was able to repair the damage quickly, though a few of them might be tender for a day. But they're ready to train again whenever you're ready."

"Good," he smiled. Ash took each one of the captures devices and set them back on his belt where they belonged. Four pokeballs, a Safari Ball, and a Luxury Ball. Now there was also a Premier Ball back at home for him to memorize, as well as the pokeball in Vermillion City that was almost always on his mind. A total of eight companions, which he wanted to expand as soon as possible.

Ash smiled to himself as he considered what kind of Pokemon he'd capture next. It'd be nice if he could get his hands on a grass type soon, though he certainly wouldn't turn down a good opportunity at a psychic or bug type. Maybe-

-the noise of the ship's speakers unexpectedly screeching made Ash wince and shudder. He glared up at the nearest one, like he could see through it and into whoever had messed up like that. There was a brief pause and a few thudding sounds. Then someone started to speak.

 _"_ _Attention, crew and passengers of the St. Anne. This is Team Rocket Admin Proton."_

Ash's blood froze. What?!

 _"_ _Our organization is currently taking control of the ship,"_ Proton explained with a lazy tone. _"They will be coming along to relieve you of your Pokemon. Should you resist, they will attack without mercy. If you wish to get off of this ship alive, make your way to the nearest lifeboat and board it without a fuss."_

His voice changed then to one filled with sadistic glee. _"Oh, and I suggest you make it snappy- there won't be much of this ship left in the next twenty minutes or so. Better get those legs moving!"_

The speakers cut off then and it felt like the whole ship froze. There was no sound or even a flicker of movement for what felt like an eternity.

His blood began to boil as fury and terror welled up within him. Team Rocket was here! Proton was here!

Chaos ensued.

People began to scream and run, fleeing for the sides of the ship and scrambling over each other up the stairs to reach the lifeboats. Ash felt his anger flare as he caught sight of a few men and women in the black uniforms of Team Rocket stalking along the edges of the panicked people, laughing as they picked off stragglers the way wolves picked off sheep.

He heard a loud bang behind him and whirled around to the opposite side of the massive, central hall of the St. Anne. Ash was still standing just outside the Pokemon Center on the right side of the huge hall, but he ignored the fleeing people to leer at the Rockets running towards him from the rear end of the hall. A few had stopped to grab some of the crew and passengers, and were now frisking them for pokeballs.

Ash had Pyro and Sobek's pokeballs in hand when he caught sight of Nurse Joy running towards the rear of the Healing Station, where she kept the other sick or injured Pokemon. "Nurse, you need to leave!"

"I can't leave the other Pokemon here for Team Rocket to steal!" She retorted, briefly casting a glare in his direction. "I'll stay and lock them into the vault! It's got a transmitter so even if the ship goes down, we can retrieve it later!"

"Can't you just transport them to another Pokemon Center?!"

"It would take too long! Besides, they cut the communications off!"

Ash's eyes widened. That explained why his call with Professor Oak was cut short. He glared furiously at the incoming mob of Rockets, who were now just fifty feet away. "Fine, I'll hold them off for you!"

"No! You leave!" Joy yelled.

"I'm not making a suggestion!" Ash snapped back, then hurled his two pokeballs up to release the contents within. Pyro and Sobek emerged in a flash, blinking for an instant as they took in the swarm of Rockets. Their irises thinned into predatory slits and the pair roared bloodlust.

Out of all of Ash's Pokemon, they hated Rockets the most.

The grunt at the head of the mob, which consisted of probably twenty-five Rockets, stopped to gauge the threat and sneered. "Give up the act, little boy! Fork your monsters over and we won't kill you."

Ash ignored him and instead released his other four Pokemon, who congregated around him in a circle. Jasmine and Eevee looked bewildered, but the other two looked furious. Douse cracked his knuckles and his normally kind expression turned dark. Spectre's single, red eye glimmered with a sinister light as he made a hollow, threatening noise.

"They're Rockets," he informed his team. Jasmine remained uncertain, but Eevee's fur fluffed up until she looked twice her size and she let loose a menacing snarl. "Don't give them a chance to fight back. There's a lot of them, but they're weak! Work together and wipe them out!"

"Who're you calling weak?!" The head grunt threatened. "Crush this brat!"

Several flashes of light heralded the arrival of a swarm of Team Rocket Pokemon- over two dozen Zubat and a couple of Golbat, more Rattata and Raticate than he cared to count, as well as the odd Houndour and Koffing. Standard Team Rocket Pokemon.

Ash eyed the mob that was far too confident given how weak they undoubtedly were with disdain. "Pyro, take out the flyers. Sobek, you and Douse take the ones on the ground. Spectre, harass them from the shadows. Eevee, you pick off any stragglers and Jasmine stays with me in case some of them come from behind."

His team replied with various sounds, almost all of which were aggressive. Ash glanced back for a moment and saw Nurse Joy working in a blur, then he turned back to face their enemies. "We just have to hold them off until Joy finishes! Go!"

Pyro took the lead with a terrifying caterwaul and a blast of fire from his maw, which caused the Rocket line to hesitate. Then Ash's Pokemon flew into action and the battle began.

His Charizard surged into the air, given the opportunity to fly thanks to the height of the massive hall, which exceeded thirty feet. He had plenty of room to maneuver as he lunged at the Zubat and Golbat horde, bathing their airspace in flames and pulverizing an unfortunate Koffing with Mega Punch as he did so. The bats screeched and scattered to escape the dragon's wrath, fleeing all over the place.

Sobek and Douse drilled through the front of the mob, slashing and biting and punching ruthlessly at their enemies. The Rocket Pokemon met them at first with aggressive sounds, but those quickly turned into yelps and squeals of pain as their stronger enemies ripped at them. Sobek's teeth gnashed into an unfortunate Raticate and hurled the rodent skyward, where it collided with a Zubat that was next hammered by the furious Charizard above them. A pair of Rattata leapt at him and bit the Krookodile's legs, but Sobek casually tore them off and let his claws dig into their flesh for a moment before he tossed them aside. His talons and fangs dripped with blood, but he looked more alive than ever.

Douse was giving the Pokemon that charged towards him a real thrashing. Several Raticate and Houndour were one-shotted by his viciously powerful punches and a Koffing was launched back at its trainer with enough force to knock the man out. When a few of the Rockets attempted to strike at him with batons, Douse reared back and blasted them with a ruthless Hydro Pump, which left them sputtering and choking on the ground.

One man actually got far enough to swing a baton at Douse and force him to guard with his hand. Ash felt panic well up for a moment as the baton suddenly sparked with electricity and shocked his friend, but Douse was saved when Sobek lunged and bit the baton into fragments. The Rocket stared at his ruined weapon in disbelief for only half a second before the Krookodile's tail slammed into his torso with devastating force- Ash swore he heard the sound of bones breaking- and was sent sailing back to his allies, where he collapsed and did not get up. Sobek snarled at the stunned Douse, who quickly recovered from his shock at his teammate's urgent prompting.

A few of the enemy had taken the opportunity to bolt past the pair of deadly foes in an attempt to reach Ash and take out the young trainer. Jasmine stunned two Rattata and a Koffing with Thunder Wave as quickly as she could, but a Houndour leapt over her with a howl, its slavering jaws open wide so it could clamp on Ash's throat. He dove to the side and avoided the bite, which had been far too close if the specks of spittle on his cheeks said anything. The Houndour landed and spun around to rush him with its mouth agape once again. Jasmine was frantically trying to get to him, but she was occupied by a few more enemies that had broken through while Sobek and Douse reformed their lethal defense.

She wouldn't be able to save him in time. Ash had to save himself.

Wrenching his backpack off as fast as he could, he rolled onto his back and shoved it forward as Houndour lunged, causing the beast to bite the pack instead. It looked surprised for a moment and Ash took the chance to kick out one of its back legs, causing it to stumble. Houndour snarled and slipped as it tried to get over the backpack and at Ash's face, but he just shoved the pack into its mouth again. The hound began to tug on the pack in an attempt to simply wrench it from Ash's grasp, but it failed to see one of the boy's right hand come around to grab it by the ear and yank hard.

Houndour forgot about the bag as it whipped its head to the side in an attempt to bite Ash's arm, but he had already let go and quickly retracted his hand. While Houndour was briefly off-balance, Ash jammed his left knee into its stomach and made it trip so that it fell onto its flank. The hound growled furiously and its mouth began to sizzle with embers. It was growing tired of this game and no backpack was going to save Ash if it decided to use Flamethrower or something similar.

Fortunately, Ash had bought enough time for Jasmine- she electrocuted Houndour with Thunder Wave and the hound yelped. The Dratini's tail glowed emerald as she darted between her trainer and the dark type, then twisted and slammed Dragon Tail into its gut. Houndour's eyes rolled into the back of its head as it collapsed heavily, drooling and whining from the pain. Jasmine glared at it crossly and looked at Ash with concern, but he just nodded jerkily as he panted and shouldered his pack. "I-I'm okay. Thanks."

He looked up to see that Sobek and Douse were once again wreaking havoc on the enemy forces. With the defensive wall reformed, many of the enemy Rattata, having realized that attacking the Krookodile and Poliwrath was suicide, went after Eevee instead since she was smaller and appeared to be less of a threat. She was quick to painfully correct their faulty judgement.

If anything, Eevee was as savage as Sobek. She snarled and spat, biting the rats that were just a little smaller than herself and shaking them until they were too dazed to fight back. One Raticate attempted to jump above her to deliver a bite, but Eevee lunged at it with Quick Attack and barreled into the rat's stomach. The airborne Raticate ended up flying towards Douse and didn't even hit the ground before a bone-crushing Mega Punch blew it through a horde of Rattata and bowled them all over.

Eevee growled as a Koffing tried to hover over her to expel its poisonous gases on Sobek and repelled the creature with a Shadow Ball that blew up in its face. The explosion sent arcs of black lightning through the air as Koffing was launched into an unsuspecting Golbat's wing above them, causing the large bat to lose its aerial balance. The pair of poison types were then obliterated by a Dragon Rush from Pyro, the impact of which rocketed them towards the ground and into a particularly unlucky grunt. The man dropped like a sack of potatoes as soon as Koffing and Golbat slammed into his face and knocked him out, resulting in a sprawling heap of bodies.

Ash couldn't see Spectre, but he heard surprised yells from the back of the crowd and saw Rockets and their Pokemon flying high into the air before they fell back to the floor. Spectre was having the time of his life, even if he was taking his job seriously. Pranks were his forte and now he had no filter- he was allowed to do whatever he pleased with his unfortunate victims.

Jasmine stayed coiled by Ash's feet and kept an eye out for any more enemies breaking through their team's assault line. The few Rattata that managed to get through were quickly stunned with Thunder Wave and batted back with a swipe of her tail. Her gaze shifted back and forth from the Rockets they were fighting to behind Ash to ensure that no one was sneaking up on them, but fortunately none showed up.

Ash's eyes narrowed as he saw some of the Rockets, whom realized that they were losing, released more Pokemon. A few Ekans had joined the battle along with a rather large Weezing, but he smirked when Pyro surged down as soon as the poison type was released and hammered it with Mega Punch and Flamethrower. The Rockets nearby dove away to escape the dragon's flames even as Pyro snarled and took to the air again to pursue what few Zubat remained.

His team was positively wrecking the enemy, but there were still lots of them and the Rockets kept releasing more Pokemon as time went on. Ash chanced a glance back at Joy and saw that she was still scrambling to get all of the pokeballs to safety. It would be another minute before she finished, but the enemy's numbers continued to grow-

-he jolted in surprise when he saw a blast of water rip through the rear of the Rockets. The grunts spun around to find out who had assaulted them from the rear only to be met by whipping vines, which hurled the men and women into each other and sent most of them sprawling.

Ash felt a grin spread over his face as he saw Blastoise and Saur annihilate the Rockets from behind. Spectre joined the two huge Pokemon, who were followed by their trainers, and assisted in immobilizing the stunned Rockets. What grunts remained on their feet were quickly knocked out and their Pokemon, confused without any orders, didn't take long to follow suit. Within a minute following Gary and Leaf's arrival, the large force of Rockets and Rocket Pokemon were defeated.

The Rockets were lying on the floor and groaning in pain, though most of them were unconscious after begin so ruthlessly beaten. Gary and Leaf walked through the battered men and women strewn across the floor, followed by their starters. Norman and his family were just behind them and Ash realized that Norman's Vigoroth and Persian were protecting the rear of the group.

"Ash! Are you okay?" Leaf hurried over to him with concern in her eyes. She looked him up and down for a few moments to check for any injuries.

He nodded. "I'm fine. They didn't put up much of a fight."

Pyro landed next to him with a loud stomp and sneered nastily at the wasted grunts. The rest of Ash's team congregated around him with only minor wounds, much to his relief.

Gary was scowling at their defeated enemies. "What the hell are they doing here? I don't remember Team Rocket being this bold. Running an underground base is one thing, but attacking a cruise ship with thousands of people on it?"

"Who knows, but that was definitely Proton on the speakers earlier," Ash growled. Gary's scowl grew uglier at the mere mention of the man and Ash easily related to that sentiment. "It sounds like they're going to destroy the ship. We need to get out of here."

Norman raised an eyebrow. "Do they have enough firepower to pull that off? These grunts were pretty weak."

"The grunts are just fodder," Gary agreed, but then frowned. "Proton is an Admin. Bastard's a lot stronger than any of these third-rate wannabes."

"So what do we do?!" Caroline demanded. She was carrying Max in her arms, while May was safely piggybacking Norman. Both children looked terrified and their mother appeared very rattled.

Norman sent his wife a reassuring glance. "We get on a lifeboat and take down any grunts in the way. If we work together, we can keep each other safe. We should hurry- there's not much time."

Ash glanced back to the Healing Station behind him. "Nurse-"

"-I'm here!" She rushed out breathing heavily, but there was a satisfied look in her eyes. "The Pokemon I had here are all safely in the vault. There's no getting them out of there. If the ship really does go down, someone will send a retrieval team to recover them."

He nodded at her and then turned to his friends. "Alright, come on. We need to get to the lifeboats."

Ash recalled Pyro, Douse, and Jasmine for the time being. They needed to move fast and light. Sobek and Eevee flanked him while Spectre sank into the boy's shadow. Gary and Leaf recalled Blastoise and Saur, then released Growlithe and Bomber. Norman's Vigoroth and Persian stayed at the rear as guards.

Joy took the lead. "Come on! If we cut across the deck, we can get to the lifeboats quickly!"

The group followed her, their Pokemon on high alert the entire time. Countless passengers were still panicking around the ship, trying to evade the Rockets while they gathered what belongings they could or fled straight to the lifeboats. Many were screaming for their friends and family, but amidst the chaos, there was little chance they would find whoever they were looking for.

As they reached the stairs that would take them to the deck, a pair of Rockets tried to stop them. One of them, a woman, grinned nastily and brandished a pokeball at the group. "Stop right there! We'll be taking-"

"Shadow Ball!" Ash roared. Eevee and Spectre responded instantly; the normal type blasted the woman without missing a beat and Spectre popped out of Ash's shadow to grant her companion the same fate. Both Rockets were lifted off their feet and slammed into the nearest wall by the explosions of ghostly lightning, where they instantly passed out.

"Don't stop!" Joy told them. The group didn't- they hadn't even stopped running when Ash's Pokemon had blasted the Rockets.

They ran up the stairs as quickly as they could- Leaf had to pick up Bomber since he couldn't roll up the steps- and made it onto the deck. To Ash's surprise, the area was nearly devoid of people. A few passengers were scrambling to get to the lifeboats, but apparently they were having trouble remembering where the evacuation sites were located. There weren't even any Rockets. The lack of sound and motion was almost eerie.

"This way," the Nurse said hurriedly.

The group followed her, but halfway across the deck, an all-too familiar voice stopped them dead in their tracks.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Ash felt his mind whirl with simultaneous rage and fear. He whipped his head up towards the third deck floor, where the figure of Proton was leaning on the railing to sneer down at them. The Rocket Admin looked delighted in a sadistic kind of way.

"If my eyes don't deceive me, that's one irritating brat," he casually jabbed a finger at Gary, then the appendage drifted to Ash. Proton's face went from glee to a scowl. "And one very very _dead_ brat."

Ash glared at the man. "What are you doing here?! What does Team Rocket want to sink the St. Anne for?!"

Proton snorted. "Oh, we don't. Honest! We don't give a damn about the boat. It's actually quite nice- I wouldn't mind cruising on it for a month."

"So then why are you here?" Norman demanded.

"Team Rocket is here to pillage the Pokemon and valuables from the vessel," the Admin replied boredly. "I am here to make these two brats- _that_ one in particular- pay for getting in my way."

Ash's blood ran cold. Proton was glaring right at him.

"They're just children!" Joy exclaimed in outrage.

"They've interfered in the world of adults," Proton snapped back. "That little punk there isn't all that big a deal. He's only had one offense and I'll bet he just got dragged along for the ride. I might even let him live after he learns his lesson."

That jab was directed at Gary and seemed more annoyed than anything. Proton's gaze turned icy as he returned the glare to Ash. "But that one isn't getting off of this boat alive. Crashing my operation in Mt. Moon and Arianna's show in Pokemon Tower, not to mention raiding our base in Celadon…you've been given too many second chances already."

"You wanna know why we're sinking the St. Anne? Because I wanna make sure you don't get away from me this time!" Proton growled. He took a pair of pokeballs off of his belt and enlarged the devices, preparing to release the creatures inside. Ash didn't doubt it was one of his monstrously powerful Pokemon- he only knew about Rhydon and Weavile, but he doubted that was all Proton had on him.

Ash reached for Pyro and Douse's pokeballs. This was going to get ugly. "You guys get to boats, he just wants me. I'll hold him off here-"

"-if you finish that sentence, I'll break your nose," Leaf threatened. "What does that even mean? Leave you and run?!"

"The ship is going to sink!" He retorted. "You can't stay here!"

"Neither can you!"

Proton wasn't going to wait for them. He released Rhydon and Weavile onto the lowest deck floor, who appeared to recognize Ash and Gary. The massive rock type's horn spun as it growled aggressively, fleeting its thick arms. Weavile brandished its claws and snickered when Ash glared at it. It was obviously ready to play its vicious games again.

Sobek took a position between the group and the Admin's Pokemon, roaring a challenge while Eevee and Spectre remained closer to them.

"Look, we can't all stay here and fight him! It's not safe!" Ash snapped, not tearing his eyes away from the Admin's Pokemon. "Just get to the boats! I'll keep him distracted!"

He released Pyro and Douse, the former of which bellowed in fury upon seeing Proton and his two Pokemon. The dragon glared at their enemy with baleful hate, who simply smirked in response. Ash set Jasmine loose as well, but he blinked when the familiar shapes of Blastoise and Nidoqueen appeared beside Pyro, Douse, and Sobek. Growlithe took a position beside Eevee, its normally playful barking replaced by a threatening growl.

Gary was cracking his knuckles. "I still gotta pay this jackass back for busting my wrist. Don't even try to argue with me, Ash. I'm not gonna listen to you."

"Both of you, stop it!" Leaf shrieked. Gary ignored her and released two of his other Pokemon- Graveler and Weepinbell.

Proton sniffed at the display. "Kill them."

Rhydon roared and began to charge across the deck, crushing pool chairs like they were made of styrofoam. Weavile darted along the side of the wall in an attempt to flank them.

"Get the Weavile, that Rhydon is mine!" Gary muttered to Ash.

"Fine by me," he replied, clenching his fist.

And the battle began.

"Pyro, use Flamethrower!" Ash ordered. "Keep Weavile away!"

His starter unleashed a jet of flame at his command, which blazed towards the nimble dark type. Weavile instantly jumped to the wall and pushed off, darting into the air in order to escape the infernal deluge. Pyro strafed the burning torrent in an attempt to make contact, but Weavile retaliated by firing a Dark Pulse right into the stream to make it explode. Flames quickly spread over the wooden deck, setting it ablaze.

Ash quickly gave his team orders while Weavile was momentarily distracted. "Keep it at a distance and try to immobilize it. Those claws are dangerous! Pyro, get into the air and keep a flame on it. Sobek, use Incinerate. If you get a chance, grab it with Fire Fang. Douse, try to hit it with Hydro Pump and put out any of the flames that get too close. Eevee, Jasmine, you're with me. If Weavile gets past the others, I need you to send it back. Spectre, hold back a moment. I've got an idea."

Gary was shouting his own orders to his team. Blastoise had immediately opened up with a Hydro Pump that almost stopped Rhydon cold, but the stone behemoth retaliated by firing a bolt of electricity from its horn. The shock caused Blastoise to roar in pain and stop his attack, but fortunately Nidoqueen covered him by launching an Ice Beam at their enemy. It slowed Rhydon, but it wasn't enough to seriously injure it- Ash couldn't believe how easily it moved despite the super effective attacks and wondered if Proton's Rhydon was more powerful than the one he'd captured not long ago.

Growlithe served as a guard for Gary- its flames wouldn't even faze Rhydon- but Weepinbell and Graveler both seemed to be preparing something. They had taken a position between their trainer and Blastoise and Nidoqueen, whom were at the head. Rhydon was, for the moment, temporarily immobile halfway across the deck as it struggled to break through the deluge of ice and water type moves.

Ash heard the sounds of Norman and Joy leading the others away, despite Leaf's protests and May's as well. He knew they were reluctant to leave him and Gary behind, but there wasn't a choice- Proton was way too strong for them to beat in time to make it to the lifeboats.

The Admin was still leaning on the railing above with infuriating calm. He had his elbow propped on the rail and his chin rest in in the palm of his hand while he observed the mayhem below. If he had to put a name to his expression, Ash would say he was bored.

Weavile was still evading his team despite the numerous streams of flame and fireballs, as well as the occasional Hydro Pump. Although it made the escape look easy, it didn't seem to have a chance to strike back. It was outnumbered this time and for all its speed, couldn't just play with its foes and go in for the kill. Not to mention that Ash's team was far stronger than before and wasn't giving the dark type even a moment to rest.

There was no way it would be able to escape everything- eventually, Weavile was bound to slip up-

-Ash whipped his head to the side as Rhydon suddenly roared angrily, apparently tired of being on the receiving end of Gary's merciless combinations and decided to wreak havoc on the deck. It leapt up a sold foot off the deck, then came down with shattering force.

The Earthquake ripped through the deck in the form of a shockwave, cracking the wood everywhere and causing the pools to rupture. Ash and Gary were thrown off their feet and landed heavily, though they managed to pull themselves back up after a moment. Blastoise, Nidoqueen, Douse, and Sobek had also been tripped up, but they recovered quickly- the Earthquake's force hadn't been dispersed very well through the wooden deck, no matter how powerful it was.

What was more, Rhydon's own attack had crushed the floor beneath it and resulted in the stone beast being trapped up to its knees. It growled with surprise and attempted to lift itself out, but it was in a very awkward position and its own weight didn't help matters. Ash smirked as Weepinbell suddenly blasted Rhydon with a burst of spores, effectively shutting it down while Blastoise, Nidoqueen, and Graveler charged in to attack the immobilized beast. Point-blank Aura Spheres, Double Kicks, and Rock Smashes began to pepper Rhydon mercilessly.

His satisfaction was short lived- Ash turned just in time to find Weavile using Douse's head as a launching platform to lunge at him even while the Poliwrath tried and failed to grab the slippery creature. Ash ducked at the incoming flash of claws, but his attempt at evasion was not necessary.

A thin lance of electricity plowed into Weavile, causing the dark type to yowl painfully. It sailed over Ash's head and hit the floor, but didn't even come to a full stop before Jasmine darted at it and wrapped coils around the creature in a blur of motion. She squeezed tightly with her serpentine body while Weavile snarled, but paralysis and Jasmine's tight coils kept it from escaping. Furious, the dark type opened its mouth to charge up an Ice Beam, only for an Iron Tail to smash it between the eyes.

Eevee looked absolutely outraged and the moment she touched back down on the deck, she lunged at Weavile again, propping herself on Jasmine's coils as her fangs went for the dark type's throat. Weavile shrieked as Eevee bit into its flesh, but it could not escape the Dratini's tight grasp and its own paralysis. Ash backed off as Douse took a place between him and the trapped creature while Eevee and Jasmine thrashed it.

The boy spun back around to scowl at Proton, who was scowling right back. Rhydon was getting a similar beating by Gary's Pokemon and wasn't going anywhere- it was half-asleep, completely paralyzed, and suffering from poison after getting hit by Weepinbell's spores. Ash wanted to feel hopeful, but he knew better after facing this man down before.

"What a pain in the ass. You brats got a little stronger," Proton was annoyed, but he smiled disturbingly as he pulled out a third pokeball. "I guess I'll be going through with Petrel's promise from Celadon. You boys get to see one of my really bloodthirsty soldiers."

Proton enlarged the device and was preparing to hurl it up when his body froze. The Admin's eyes widened. "The hell?!"

A faint outline of red energy encased the man, courtesy of a rather angry looking Duskull hovering over his head. Ash grinned up at Spectre for succeeding with the plan. "Good job, Spectre!"

Spectre's eye only glinted slightly in response- his focus was entirely on the Admin as he kept Disable trained firmly on the man. Proton's veins bulged as he fought to escape the immobilizing technique. "You little shit…!"

Ash's grin turned back into a scowl. "Pryo, get him."

The Charizard snarled and dove out of the air to land on the third deck floor beside the Admin, whom he grabbed and shoved to the ground harshly. Proton yelled in pain, but his voice was drowned out by Pyro's furious roar as the dragon bellowed in the man's face to bare all of his terribly sharp fangs. Spectre backed off a bit, but kept Proton Disabled while Pyro forced the Admin to let go of the pokeball in his hand.

Suddenly he heard a yowl behind him, but when he turned, he was relieved to see that it was just Weavile's pained cries as Eevee's clamping jaws throttled the creature. Jasmine had her eyes narrowed in concentration, keeping her coils tight on the dark type so that it could not escape. Ash grimaced at the sight of blood dripping out of Eevee's mouth and onto Jasmine's scales. "Finish it off, girls."

Eevee growled acknowledgement and leapt off of Jasmine. While their dazed enemy took a gulp of air, Jasmine's tail glowed silver as she lifted Weavile, twisted, and slammed it into the deck ruthlessly. The force was enough to punch Weavile's skull through the wooden floor and when she finally released it, the dark type was in a sprawled heap. Ash got a brief glimpse of its face and saw that its eyes, though open wide, were completely white and unseeing. It was definitely unconscious. Eevee spit some of its blood out of her mouth, as if it tasted foul to her.

A loud crash signaled the demise of Rhydon, who had just been subject to a crushing blow from Graveler. Weepinbell had tossed its ally into the air directly above the trapped beast once Blastoise and Nidoqueen stepped back a bit, allowing Graveler to come down on Rhydon like a meteor. He drove a devastating Rock Smash into the beast's head, cracking the stone armor and even its drill. Ash winced despite his hatred for the Rocket Pokemon- that had to hurt.

Gary sneered as Pyro and Spectre carried Proton down to the bottom deck. "Well, well, well, how the tables turn. You ain't so tough without your cronies backing you up, are ya!"

Proton scowled at the boy, but he couldn't retaliate- not with Spectre Disabling him and a furious Charizard's claws clenched around his throat. Gary stalked up to the Admin and glared at him for a few moments. His fist came back and was then driven into Proton's nose, which made a painful snapping sound.

"That's for Celadon," Gary scowled while Proton's eyes bulged with fury and blood began to trickle down his face.

Ash took the pokeball that Pyro and Spectre had retrieved from Proton and eyed it warily. "I'm kind of tempted to throw it into the water. It's not worth the risk."

"You might as well keep it," his rival shrugged. "Give the Rockets a taste of their own medicine with one of their Pokemon. It adds insult to injury- we messed up an Admin and took his Pokemon. If anything, we should toss him in the water instead."

"You know that's illegal," Ash sighed.

Gary jabbed a finger at Proton. " _He's_ illegal."

Well, he wasn't wrong.

Proton spit some blood, though he fell short of making it hit Ash or Gary. Pyro growled threateningly, but the Admin only sneered. "You brats actually think you've won."

"Out of the three of us, which one's Pokemon are totally out of it?" Gary asked innocently, mocking Proton and enjoying every second of it. "Also, your face is ugly as hell and last I checked, being held captive by a Charizard doesn't make you much of a winner."

Pyro growled agreement, letting his claws dig into his prey's skin ever so slightly.

Despite his predicament, Proton smirked. "I can't wait to see the looks of despair on your faces."

"And I can't wait to find out if you know how to swim," Ash snapped. "Shut up before I actually let Pyro toss you in the ocean."

"I say, good show!"

Ash and Gary whipped their eyes up to find another familiar face, Petrel, standing in the same place on the third floor that Proton had been not long ago. Even their Pokemon looked surprised by his appearance- it was like he'd just appeared out of nowhere.

The Admin legitimately looked pleased and clapped his hands loudly. "To think you kids actually managed to get the better of Proton! Consider me impressed! It's not very becoming of Team Rocket's military commander to fall for such a simple trick, hmm?"

"Who says I fell for it?" Proton didn't even look back at his ally. Instead, he smirked at Ash and Gary with a delighted expression. "Maybe I _let_ them catch me."

"Why the hell would you do something like that?" Gary demanded.

Proton's smile got even creepier as his tongue came out to lick at his lips. "For the obvious reason. There's nothing quite as delicious to me as watching someone's hope turn into despair."

"You'll have to excuse Proton's bad manners," Petrel snickered as he leaned on the railing. "He likes to play with his food."

Ash and Gary only stared at the man warily. Petrel looked and acted like an idiot, but he was still an Admin and the way he could just…materialize out of thin air was disturbing. He was dangerous.

"It's such a shame that you boys have to be put down," the Admin sighed. "Your talents would be so valuable to our cause, but alas, orders are orders. Now then, let's get Proton back in the fight, shall we? Chimecho, if you'd please."

The two boys blinked as an odd, bell-like Pokemon floated out from behind Petrel and chimed quietly. The creature began to make a high-pitched, singing cry and its body began to glow with intense blue light. It got so bright that Ash and Gary had to squint in order to see what was going on, but just as they lifted their arms to keep it from blinding them, the light dimmed.

Two blasts of light shot through the air and enveloped Rhydon and Weavile's unmoving forms. An instant later, Chimecho fell out of the air as if it had just fainted and Petrel recalled it. Ash frowned worriedly. It seemed pointless, but what was-

-the roar of a Rhydon made his blood freeze. Ash spun towards the previously defeated beast and watched in disbelief as it slowly pushed itself back to its feet. Rhydon seemed tired, but its wounds were healing before their eyes and the rage it held hadn't lessened in the slightest.

He whipped his eyes towards Weavile next and tensed when the dark type dragged itself out of the hole in the deck. Its torn throat was already healed and it no longer looked playful- it was furious. It snarled at Ash and Gary, brandishing its claws for a second round.

"What the…" Gary's jaw was hanging open. "What did he just do?! They were completely unconscious!"

"It doesn't matter," Ash growled, flashing a glare up at Petrel. "Give up or my Charizard will-"

"-he'll what?" Petrel interrupted with a snort. "Kill Proton? Spare me the bravado. You don't have the nerve to order your Pokemon to take a life. Even if you do, then you'll have no leverage to negotiate with me and I'll just kill you anyways."

"You're bluffing!" Gary yelled as he clenched his fist.

The corners of Petrel's lips quirked upwards in a smirk. "Am I? Then why are your Pokemon already beaten?"

Ash froze, whipping his eyes towards his team and found to his horror that Eevee, Douse, and Spectre were lying on the ground. Eevee's left flank had blade-like cuts running from her shoulder to her hip that bled heavily. Douse had several deep gouges, which marred the black and white spiral pattern of his belly with crimson and Spectre's skull mask had lost one of its three teeth from a jagged slice. Jasmine cried out for her friend and frantically tried to rouse Eevee into consciousness, but she didn't respond with so much as a twitch. Ash hurriedly recalled his wounded friends and realized that Gary's Growlithe, Weepinbell, and Graveler bore similar injuries.

He was trying to fathom what had just happened. Weavile and Rhydon hadn't moved since they were revived, but there wasn't another Rocket Pokemon on the deck and he still had Proton's third pokeball in his hand, so what-

-as his fist clenched, Ash felt his fingers pass through thin air. He held his hand up and stared in disbelief. The pokeball was gone.

"Up here," Petrel called mockingly, waving around the capture device like a toy. Ash's eyes widened at the sight of a bipedal, fox-like creature standing behind him. The Pokemon's lithe body was covered in black and gray fur, but it had a long mane of crimson running from the top of its head. A blue crystal bound the mane at the end almost like a ponytail. The creature's ears were pointed as was its snout, and its slanted eyes glowed a light blue. At the corners of its mouth were red patches of fur that gave it a terrifying appearance when it smiled, baring sharp fangs.

Ash's eyes trailed down to the bright red claws on its long arms and he realized that the tips were dripping blood. This _thing_ , whatever it was, was responsible for taking out half of his and Gary's team in the blink of an eye.

He hadn't even seen it until Petrel brought it to his attention.

"If you're wondering why dear Zoroark here left some of your Pokemon in fighting shape, it's because like Proton here, I also enjoy a good fight," Petrel licked his lips and Zoroark snickered. "I look forward to seeing you bleed."

His blood ran cold. Proton and Petrel were _playing_ with them. This was just a sick game for the pair of Admins. Scared and running on adrenaline, Ash tried to flip the situation in the only way that seemed possible. "Pyro, do it!"

The Charizard's claws slashed down on nothing. Pyro stared in shock, trying to process where his prey had gone.

"Do what?" A voice whispered at Ash's shoulder. The hairs rose on the back of his neck.

He spun around only to be met with a vicious fist in his gut. Ash felt the wind get knocked out of him as he crumpled to his knees, but the blow triggered the wrath of his remaining three Pokemon.

Pyro bellowed in fury and lunged at Proton along with Sobek. Weavile and Rhydon jumped into action and made to engage Ash and Gary's Pokemon once again. But before any of the Pokemon could reach their enemies, Petrel released the monster inside of Proton's third pokeball.

A roar of unparalleled savagery shook the air and made Ash, who was still hugging his stomach on the ground, freeze in terror. His eyes came up to find a creature that embodied violence rushing down at them- a dragon with black and blue scales, three heads full of serrated teeth, and evil red eyes. The monster was easily twice the size of Pyro and it was horrifyingly fast.

Its initial dive at the group came with a surge of blue draconic energy from the main head, which would have thrown Ash and Gary off their feet if Pyro and Blastoise hadn't shielded them. The attack wasn't aimed at them, but the deck rather, yet its destructive force was enough to leave a gaping hole where the pool had once been. The right head fired a Hyper Beam at Gary's Nidoqueen and Proton's Rhydon as they grappled and blew them apart. The left fired a similar beam that burned through the deck between Ash's team and Weavile, seemingly uncaring about its allies. Weavile leapt away from the dangerous beam and hissed at the dragon, but it didn't even seem to notice the dark type.

Proton leapt up as the dragon flew just low enough for the man to hitch a ride and carry him into the air, where he recalled Rhydon and Weavile. The dragon snarled as it glared down at the boys and their Pokemon.

"Petrel, get off the ship," Proton called, grinning like a fool. "It's about to get a violent makeover."

Ash and Gary could only watch as Petrel recalled Zoroark and released a huge bird covered in black and white feathers. He climbed onto his mount and the magnificent bird gracefully launched them into the air with a deep, proud cry.

Proton looked like a kid in a candy shop as he gave a single command to the dragon. "Blow them into oblivion."

The dragon snarled again and all three heads began to charge up intense orange energy spheres. Ash frantically thought in an effort to find an escape route, but he was coming up with nothing. There was nowhere to hide from the incoming attack and no way to defend against it.

A sudden bolt of sapphire energy was launched from the deck beside him and caught the jaw of the dragon's main head. Ash's head whipped towards Jasmine in surprise and stared at the serpent's uncharacteristically furious expression. As it was, he didn't actually have time to do more than that.

The dragon's main head had been hit just as it was about to launch the Hyper Beams, but the unexpected Dragon Rage diverted the path of the attack. Instead of smiting the group below and turning them into stains, the terribly powerful beam of energy cut through the third and second deck floors to the left of its target like a laser, cleanly burning through the wood and steel. The two smaller heads seemed confused by the misfire and ended up launching their own Hyper Beams the wrong way as well- one of them generated another explosion in what had once been the pool, vaporizing what little water remained, while the other ripped through the air harmlessly.

Ash felt relief flood through him for a split second until he heard the telltale sound of a structure collapsing. He spun towards the section of deck above them that had been blown apart by the Hyper Beam from the main head and blanched as the second and third floors began to topple over.

"Move!" He yelled, prompting Gary and their Pokemon to scramble away from the falling mass of wood and steel. With a thunderous crash, the second and third floors collapsed onto the base deck, sending huge splinters of debris into the air. Ash covered his head with his hands as he and Gary dove behind the nearest source of cover- the bar- and waited for the chaos to end. Jasmine had joined them behind the bar while Pyro and Sobek got behind Blastoise and Nidoqueen, who after putting some distance between themselves and the collapsing deck, used Protect to guard against any of the flying debris.

As the dust settled, Ash stood up and peered out from behind the bar, relieved to see that none of their Pokemon had been injured. In the air, the Proton's dragon seemed to be fighting amongst itself as the heads snapped and hissed at each other, while Petrel simply hovered on the enormous black bird with a bemused expression.

Before anyone else could make a move, Ash heard what sounded like an alarm of sorts blaring from the ship speakers that hadn't been destroyed. It was an odd noise- it was a low, deep tone that seemed to pulse in his ears. His Pokemon looked puzzled by the sound as well, but there was a tension to them, like they knew it was bad news.

Above the ruined deck, Petrel whistled innocently. "Oh dear, that can't be good."

"Ugh, has it already been twenty minutes?" Proton growled. "Fine, let's back off."

That was the last thing Ash expected to hear from the Admins. They retreated high into the air and didn't engage the boys further. He warily came out from behind the bar, followed by Jasmine and then Gary.

The other trainer looked as confused as he felt. "They fell back?"

"Yeah…" Ash muttered slowly. "What's that noise? It's not the ship alarm."

Suddenly the whole ship seemed to groan and the boys froze. Pyro hissed urgently and jerked his head into the air, but he wasn't trying to gesture to the Rocket Admins above. He looked nervous- an expression Ash couldn't remember ever seeing on his starter before. But if something was putting Pyro on edge, it wouldn't be a good idea to ignore it.

Ash recalled Jasmine and Sobek immediately. "We need to get higher and find out what's happening."

Gary nodded and returned Blastoise and Nidoqueen, then sent out Pidgeot. The massive bird looked bewildered by the chaotic scene, but she didn't protest when Gary climbed onto her back.

Ash was a little more hesitant as he approached Pyro. He'd never actually flown on the dragon before, but Pyro had gotten better with his flight since his evolution. Pyro crouched for him and he hoisted himself onto the Charizard's back, settling on the joint just above his wings. Ash wrapped his arms around the dragon's neck as he tensed and launched them into the air, causing the boy to yelp and hurriedly slap a hand on his hat to keep it from flying off. Pyro wobbled slightly, unused to having someone ride him, but he leveled out after a few moments.

Once he was sure his stomach wasn't going flip, Ash waited as Pyro ascended about fifty feet off the ship and gave them a good vantage point. Several meters away, Gary and Pidgeot settled in the air as well. The pulsing sound was still going strong, much to their worry.

Ash warily glanced all around to find that Proton and Petrel had disappeared for the time being. That wasn't necessarily good, but it gave them one less problem to deal with. He caught sight of several life boats already in the water and retreating from the main vessel. There were still a couple that hadn't yet disembarked, but he could see crewmen scrambling to get the small ships underway.

Suddenly, the ocean around the St. Anne glowed.

Ash and Gary stared, eyes wide, as bright white light surged up from the black depths, almost blinding them with its intensity. Pyro and Pidgeot bristled beneath them, snarling and screeching with alarm. Ash patted his starter's neck in an effort to calm him, but Pyro was inconsolable- he ascended another twenty feet into the air instead, which wasn't good for the boy's sense of vertigo.

After what was probably a solid minute, the light faded completely. An unnatural silence filled the air and Ash stared at the ocean. There was a pressure now, like a storm was about to break or…

The water began to roil. It bubbled and boiled and surged around the St. Anne. Ash felt powerful vibrations emanating from the sea and he stared with wide eyes as the violent ocean suddenly exploded and-

-Hyper Beams exploded from the water in mass, annihilating anything in their path. Ash watched in horror as he counted ten, twelve, seventeen, _more and more and more_ of the deadly beams rip through the St. Anne and the surrounding ocean. One beam tore through the side of the vessel and up through the deck where they had just stood. Although the energy beam didn't come near them, the monster that had fired it burst through the huge hole it had created.

A _red_ Gyarados nearly twenty feet long exploded from the deck with a terrifying roar. Its massive, serpentine body thrashed and flailed about, smashing anything it touched into fragments with its overwhelming strength and weight. The beast spat Hyper Beams at random, incinerating more of the ship with every blast.

Ash saw more Gyarados erupting out of the water below them and begin the same deadly rampage, attacking the St. Anne with their massive bodies and Hyper Beams. To his shock, he realized that most of them had red scales instead of the usual blue. The bigger ones seemed to possess the natural color of their species, but many of the red Gyarados were oddly small, though they were no less powerful for it. With such numbers, even a vessel the size of the St. Anne was in danger of being destroyed.

He couldn't even see the ocean for Gyarados- their endless writhing coils, glittering red and blue in the light of the full moon, blocked the water from his vision. The Hyper Beams struck anything they could reach- the ship, the air, the water, other Gyarados- with no regard for the fate of their targets. His eyes were wide in horror as one of the larger Gyarados grabbed a much smaller one by the neck in its massive jaws and wrenched violently until its head lay at an unnatural angle. The mortally wounded Gyarados gave an agonized shriek and fell amongst the roiling horde, its eyes already glassing over.

Gary suddenly yelled and Ash followed his gaze only to realize with another shock that an enormous Gyarados had squirmed onto the ship near a lifeboat that had yet to depart. The people on board screamed as the twenty-five foot behemoth slammed its tail into the vessel while it thrashed about, jerking the boat from the crane that was meant to lower it safely into the water. The lifeboat fell right onto the writhing mass of Gyarados below and the impact alerted the creatures to its presence. They roared in fury and several Hyper Beams targeted the helpless vessel and the people inside, blowing them into oblivion.

"Oh my god," Ash whispered in a horrified voice. Despite the carnage, the Gyarados horde didn't even seem to notice- they continued their rampage around the vessel, lining the ship on both sides as they laid waste to anything and everything around them. The St. Anne had been set ablaze and was beginning to take on water in copious amounts from the countless holes and breaches made by the Gyarados, who must have numbered in the hundreds.

Pyro suddenly roared and they jerked harshly to the right, narrowly avoiding a Hyper Beam that had very nearly struck the Charizard. The red Gyarados on the deck beneath them seemed to have noticed the flyers and in its rage, tried to blast them out of the air. It fired another Hyper Beam at them, but the energy was much weaker and less focused- for all its wrath, the newly evolved creature was tiring quickly. Pyro matched the Hyper Beam with a Flamethrower, generating an explosion between the two furious Pokemon.

Gary yelled at Ash over the screaming air. "We need to get away from here!"

Ash could only nod. He couldn't think about much else other than to escape- it was all he could do to keep his stomach inside of him. The brutality of the scene below and the sense of vertigo he experienced from this height were difficult enough to deal with.

Pidgeot led them away, trying to reach one of the lifeboats that had already drifted far away from the horde. Ash could only pray that Leaf, Norman, and the others were safe.

They had gotten within fifty feet of the lifeboat when a glint of light out of the corner of Ash's eye made him freeze. He spun his gaze up to his right and immediately screamed in panic. "Look out!"

Pyro and Pidgeot barely had enough time to snap their eyes towards the incoming triple Hyper Beam and evade the deadly attack, cutting them off from the lifeboat. Ash glared hatefully at Proton as the man flew towards them on his draconic mount, the beast slavering for blood.

"You are not getting away!" Proton declared, grinning like a madman.

Gary swore and commanded Pidgeot to fly away. Pyro followed her immediately as they raced away from Proton and his savage monster. They banked back towards the St. Anne, hoping that one of the Gyarados would shoot Proton down.

Pyro and Pidgeot were flying hard and fast, their wings pounding through the air furiously as they fled from the vicious dragon and its seemingly endless beams of energy. It wasn't a very accurate creature, but it was keeping them from slowing for even a moment and easily kept up with them. The trio of flyers lunged across the burning form of the St. Anne, which was still swarming with countless Gyarados.

A few of the beasts took notice of them and spat Hyper Beams, uncaring as to which target they hit. Pyro snarled and Ash had to shout at him to prevent the Charizard from retaliating- they didn't have time to pick a fight, they just had to get away from Proton. Just ahead of them, Pidgeot danced through the wind and avoided the energy beams to keep her trainer safe, who clung onto the massive bird for dear life.

Ash heard a furious roar behind them and glanced over his shoulder to find that a Gyarados' Hyper Beam had scored a hit on the large dragon, who was an easier target thanks to its sheer bulk. He hoped for a moment that it might get blown out of the sky by the attack, but his hopes changed into shock and horror as the dragon, further enraged by the mild wound it had received from the Hyper Beam, stopped for a moment to single out the creature responsible. It fired another triple Hyper Beam, far larger and more intense than the one that had struck its belly, straight into the Gyarados' open maw. The massive water type convulsed for a split second as the energy pierced clean through its body and roared out the back of its neck, then collapsed in a heap.

Pyro suddenly growled and Ash jerked his gaze forward again to see that Petrel and his dark feathered mount were coming at the two boys and their Pokemon from the front. Ash heard Gary loudly swear up ahead of him and then Pidgeot banked up sharply, ascending in an attempt to escape their pursuers- there was a chance they could lose the Rockets in the dark clouds. Pyro followed her, though they were quickly chased by Petrel and Proton once the latter got control of his enraged dragon again.

Pyro and Pidgeot quickly darted into the cloud cover, picking up speed and maneuvering more elaborately in an effort to confuse the Rockets. They ducked and weaved and flew as fast as they could, desperately trying to gain any sort of advantage. Wind roared past Ash's ears and froze his skin, but the rush of danger flowing through his veins and the warmth emanating from his starter kept it from getting too bad.

Ash yelled as a stream of black energy rings surged over his right shoulder, barely missing its target. Pyro snarled angrily, but he knew that turning around to fight was suicide- not while Ash was on his back and the enemy had that _ridiculously_ powerful dragon backing it up.

Ash glared over his shoulder at the Rockets, who followed them undeterred by the clouds. He couldn't figure out how the heck they were able to see them in this cover- even with the moonlight, it was way too dark for anyone to see, so…

He froze as he realized what was tipping them off- Pyro's tail flame. It burned a bright orange and yellow, lighting the way for the Rockets and giving them a target to follow. Despair filled Ash's heart. There was no way to stop that flame, for it would burn as long as Pyro was alive. He didn't have another flier to switch to and at the speeds they were going, no switch would be safe.

His eyes trailed ahead. Gary could escape if Ash wasn't here- if Pyro changed course, the Rockets would follow his flame and leave Pidgeot to flee into the clouds. There was no way Ash would let Gary be dragged down with him.

"Pyro, dive!" Ash shouted, just low enough so that Gary and Pidgeot wouldn't hear him up ahead. "They can see your flame!"

The Charizard nodded and dove, ripping through the clouds towards the ocean. The huge fireball beneath them signified the St. Anne where it lay, helpless to its fate. The dark waters surged towards them it seemed as Pyro descended rapidly, causing Ash to squeeze his eyes shut against the blasting wind.

Pyro suddenly jerked to the right and snarled. The movement snapped Ash back to attention and he caught a glimpse of Petrel's dark mount sailing over their backs. The bird's claws were clenching on air, but it was apparent that it had just tried to snatch Ash. It seemed annoyed by its failure if the angry squawk said anything and dove after the fleeing Charizard to launch a Dark Pulse.

Pyro jerked again to avoid the dark type move and leveled out as they neared the ocean. He flapped his massive wings as quickly as he could to close the distance to the burning St. Anne, where Ash could still see Gyarados rampaging on and around the ship despite the flames.

Ash yelped as a Hyper Beam seared past them and blew up against the ship's port side flank. He whipped his head over his shoulder and glared at Proton's dragon, who was back in pursuit along with Petrel's massive bird. The pair raced alongside each other as they tried to get close enough to make their kill, and they were closing the distance frighteningly fast- Pyro was getting exhausted from the straining flight and he would soon be outstripped by the more experienced flyers.

The boy looked back ahead just in time to suck in a breath and squeeze his eyes shut as Pyro plunged them into a roiling cloud of black smoke. It was hot and it got into his lungs through his nose, but Ash managed to avoid taking a full breath of the cloud. Pyro of course didn't have such worries and had probably forgotten the risk it posed to his trainer, but all things considered, it was better than diving into the flames for camouflage.

Pyro surged out of the other end of the smoke cloud and Ash rapidly considered his options. Even Pyro's tail flame would have disappeared in the black cloud, giving them a brief window of escape from the Rockets. Maybe if they ascended again and used the smoke as cover they could-

-Pyro's body was suddenly wracked with a violent tremor and the dragon roared in agony beneath Ash. The boy flung his arms around Pyro's neck and managed to avoid being thrown off by whatever had just slammed into his friend, but his heart froze when he realized what had happened- one of the small red Gyarados had spotted them leaving the smoke, probably by sheer dumb luck, and cleanly struck the Charizard's belly with a Hyper Beam. The Gyarados was small, so the damage wasn't so catastrophic as it would have been if Pyro had been hit by one of the larger ones, but it was enough to make his tired muscles too shaky for flight to be an option any longer.

Ash could feel Pyro struggling to stay airborne and clenched his jaw. One was or another, he was getting into the water. His starter was growling and panting, wincing slightly as every breath caused his injured belly to send waves of pain through him.

"Easy, buddy," Ash leaned forward and patted the dragon's neck. "Get low to the water and slow down as much as you can."

Pyro grunted acknowledgement and barely managed to evade a Hyper Beam fired by yet another Gyarados. By now, most of them had turned on each other and were fighting violently, but a few seemed to be leaving the area around the burning St. Anne, either because they sensed the danger or wanted to find something else worth destroying.

Ash glanced over his shoulder and bit his lip tightly. Petrel and Proton hadn't yet made it through the smoke cloud. If he could recall Pyro and get into the water before they came out…

He focused on his friend as the Charizard managed to slow himself until he was almost at a complete stop a few feet above the water, then Ash recalled him and his body fell through the air and into the roiling black sea.

The water was freezing. Ash didn't expect the temperature to shock him so much, but even the cold air he felt while flying on Pyro didn't compare to this. He was dunked several feet under the water and couldn't see a thing through the inky blackness, except for a faint glow quite a distance away that was probably from the St. Anne. He couldn't hear much of anything, except for a dull roar likely from the inferno and the occasional bellow from angry Gyarados.

Ash swam up to the surface and took in a lung full of air. He twisted his hat so that the cap was no longer in his eyes, though he had to squint when his gaze found the St. Anne inferno. His mouth twisted into a grimace as he saw a serpentine shape in the flames writhing and shrieking- no doubt a Gyarados that had wormed its way onto the ship only to be trapped by the terrible fire. Gyarados could resist fire to an extent, but anything short of a fire type would be killed by a blaze of that degree.

He looked around in an effort to spot any sign of a lifeboat. If he couldn't get out of the water and soon-

-an explosion ripped through the waves not three meters away from him. Ash caught a glimpse of dark energy rings as the wave resulting from the Dark Pulse roared over his head and dragged him back under the water. His stunned brain managed to guess that Petrel's mount had somehow spotted him and attempted to finish him off. He struggled to remain under the water even while his lungs screamed for air. If Proton or Petrel saw him, he was dead.

Any thoughts of escape were removed from his mind as _something_ crashed into him.

Ash felt at least two of his ribs crack and screamed underwater, but whatever it was, it ignored him and kept swimming away from the St. Anne. He was stuck between two strong horns and the creature, which had already been going at a fair pace, suddenly picked up speed and surged for the surface.

Sweet air blasted around him and Ash greedily sucked in a breath despite the agony it caused his ribs. He heard a fearsome roar and then he was diving-

The waves slammed into him again and he almost lost the precious air he'd just taken. Before he knew it, the creature was rushing back up to the surface and roared again, then dove back down. Ash clung on for dear life without knowing where it was going or even what it was.

A sudden, concussive force blew through the ocean then, stunning both Ash and whatever it was he was stuck with. They rose to the surface for a moment and he glimpsed a huge explosion rising from the St. Anne- the fuel tanks had probably been ignited. Many of the Gyarados close by had been doused in oil and were now coated in liquid fire. Ash thought he could hear their screams even through his ringing ears.

The creature beneath him thrashed suddenly and swam away again as soon as it regained its sense of mobility. Ash's vision, which rocked wildly with the creature's violent movements, caught a glimpse of the St. Anne sinking. The massive ship was still ablaze, but with a mighty groan, it sank beneath the waves.

Then they were back underwater as the creature continued to fly through the sea, away from the wreck. Ash focused on breathing, timing his breaths with every surge it made to the surface. He fought to stay awake on the wild ride as fatigue and pain tried to overwhelm him, known that if he gave in he would drown.

The deadly pattern went on and on- up, breathe, down, black, cold, up, breathe, down, black, cold, up, breathe- cold, up- black- up- _breathe- breathe- breathe-_

* * *

He wasn't sure how long the creature swam. It could have been mere minutes or hours, but eventually it came to a jarring halt above the water, as if it had run into something. Ash felt his cracked ribs squeeze painfully against its horns and moaned in pain, spitting up water as he choked for air. Black spots were dancing in his vision and his head felt fuzzy. He couldn't remember ever feeling this tired before…Sure it wound't hurt if he just closed his eyes for a moment…

The last thing he was aware of before darkness claimed him was a low roar, then nothing.

* * *

It felt like he'd been hit by a train.

His body was devoid of any energy and hurt terribly, especially around his midsection. Ash managed to open his eyes, the lids of which felt like they were being weighted down, and sluggishly looked around with what little strength he had. He realized after what could have been a few seconds or a minute that he was still stuck between the red horns of some unmoving creature. The color was weird, but he shrugged inwardly and told himself he didn't care. He wanted to get off of it, whatever it was.

He managed to push himself up, though his arms screamed at him for it. Ash unjammed his torso from between the horns and immediately fell forward a few feet to land on his back. The impact was soft, but it still caused his cracked ribs to flare painfully and make him groan. His eyes got blurry with reflexive tears.

Ash kept his eyes squeezed shut as the waves of pain passed and he regained enough sense of mind to try and figure out what his predicament was. He blinked the tears away and screamed.

Inches away from him was the large, open maw of a Gyarados.

He mentally kissed himself goodbye the second he saw the huge fangs and gaping mouth, certain it was about to eat him. But the bite never came and Ash realized that the massive serpent was completely unconscious. Its eyes were closed and its face seemed to be contorted in perpetual agony.

He blinked dazedly at the creature once he realized that he was safe- for now. The beast was huge compared to him, but his numbed mind told him it was pretty sure Gyarados were supposed to be…well, bigger. Its maw was barely big enough to engulf his comparatively small body. His brain confusingly told him that its scales were the wrong color too. It was red. That was silly, he told himself. Gyarados were all blue. He was just really, really tired.

The beast twitched then and groaned, but it was still totally out of it. Ash regarded the Gyarados wearily and wondered if it would eat him if it woke up for real. He didn't want to be dinner. Seeing as Gyarados was unconscious, he decided to put it in a pokeball. It wouldn't be able to eat him in there.

Ash removed his pack whilst rolling onto his belly, each second of movement causing him pain and discomfort. He unzipped the bag and fumbled around inside of it for a pokeball. His fingers finally touched one of the capture devices and he pulled it out, briefly aware that it was one of his Ultra Balls. Same difference, he told himself.

He had no strength left to actually throw the device after tapping the button to enlarge it, but fortunately, the Gyarados was close enough for him to just reach out and tap the Ultra Ball against its bottom lip. The huge creature was sucked inside with a flash of red light and only wriggled for a second before it went still.

Ash felt the device shrink as the lock on it activated and tried to remember why- oh yeah, he had six Pokemon on him already. He needed to release one of them so he could get away from…

His vision suddenly flickered and went black.

* * *

Something was nudging him, he realized as he was forced awake. Whatever it was had scales covering its body and seemed particularly urgent.

Ash frowned with his eyes closed and grumbled in exhaustion. "Jasmine…five more..minutes…"

A guttural growl was his answer and Ash froze. That was _not_ Jasmine. He opened his eyes slowly and his heart leapt into his throat.

A dragon- and it was quite the dragon- towered over him. Its massive skull was hovering above the boy's face and sharp onyx eyes were trained into his. The beast had blue scales covering the majority of its body with two red crests atop its head and a strip of that same red running down its throat. Its claws gouged the sand and he saw that they were thicker than his wrists. Its fangs help a similar thickness and he realized that this thing could probably rip into the thick hide of a Tauros as if it were paper.

There was no getting away from it- he didn't have the strength to run in the first place. The dragon had rolled him onto his back and trapped his backpack beneath him. It would take a split second for it to take a bite and finish him off.

Ash suddenly remembered the Ultra Ball and Gyarados clenched in his hand. Swallowing, he tried to enlarge it to release the creature inside. If he had a distraction, maybe he could get the rest of his team out to fight this thing…

The device didn't enlarge. Ash mentally swore when he remembered that he had six Pokemon on hand and Gyarados would be locked in there until he had an open slot. So much for that plan.

The dragon's gaze shifted to his right hand, which was still desperately trying to enlarge the Ultra Ball, and snorted in what might have been amusement. Ash watched hopelessly as it turned back to stare into his eyes. This was it. He didn't have the strength to grab one of his other pokeballs quickly enough to fight back. This thing was going to end him.

It leaned down and opened its mouth. Ash swallowed hard and tried to keep himself from losing it as the inevitable inched closer and closer and-

-a huge, slimy tongue licked his face.

Ash blinked at the dragon dumbly. It made a chuffing noise and it took him several seconds to realize that it was _laughing_ at him. Its eyes glimmered with an old wisdom, but there was no killing intent from what the boy could see. The dragon nudged him with its snout and growled, like it was urging him to get up.

He tried. He really did. Seeing as he wasn't about to get munched, Ash rolled onto his stomach and managed to get onto his hands and knees, but his legs wouldn't listen to him. It didn't help that his clothes were damp and felt heavier than they should have. He couldn't remember ever feeling so completely devoid of energy.

The dragon growled again, an encouraging sound this time. Ash grit his teeth as he strained and pushed, but failed. "I-I can't-"

He winced as he became aware of his throat stinging from the attempt to talk. It was dry and burned, like he hadn't had anything to drink in days. His muscles began to give way to collapse back onto the sand, but the dragon's skull suddenly appeared beneath him and lifted him up. Ash's limp body slid down its neck and came to a stop on its broad shoulders, which were covered in thick blue scales and bordered by a pair of absolutely massive crimson wings.

Despite himself, he took a moment to be amazed by the size of this creature. It made Pyro look like a Charmander. The dragon stood on all fours, but it was six feet tall at the shoulder and easily triple that for length.

Its massive wings flared out, stirring up a gust of wind and sand. The dragon turned its long neck to look at him and grunted warningly. Ash realized it was about to take off and quickly pocketed the Ultra Ball containing Gyarados, then wrapped his arms as far around the dragon's neck as he could manage. It nodded with approval, crouched, and launched them into the air.

Ash clung on tightly, but after the initial burst, the dragon cruised with smooth ease. It felt nothing like his wild flight on Pyro- there was a bubble of air around them that kept the wind from blasting Ash off, even though he could see the ocean racing by on either side of them at speeds he couldn't even comprehend. The dragon acted casually, as if such acceleration was child's play for it.

He was in a position where he could peer around its shoulder and before long, he caught sight of an object on the ocean getting closer- no, they were the ones getting closer. The dragon was flying towards it deliberately. Ash realized after a minute that it was a ship, but it was an old, wooden vessel that looked like it belonged in a pirate movie. He really hoped there weren't any actual pirates on that, because there would be no fighting back. Forget battle, he could barely move.

The dragon lazily descended towards the ship, loosing an air-shaking roar to announce its arrival. Ash saw groups of men scrambling on the deck, shouting back and forth.

As soon as the dragon touched down and crouched, two burly men were there to meet them. The dragon rumbled to the pair and glanced at Ash. As if the men understood, they nodded immediately and one called over his shoulder. "Get the medic ready! Salamence has a survivor!"

The dragon slowly fell to its belly and one of the sailors gingerly removed Ash from its back. He winced from the shift, but it didn't hurt so sharply as before. It was a dull, throbbing pain.

The man hurriedly carried him inside of the ship and before Ash knew it, he was being set on a surface that felt softer than anything he'd ever dreamed of. The sailor muttered something and then another man appeared over Ash's face and looked him up and down. He was only vaguely aware of what they were saying- fatigue was getting to him again and the darkness was so nice…

"Broken ribs and…shoulder. Bad burns, prob…and..sun…dehydra…hospital…"

He blacked out once more.

* * *

His head really hurt. So did his torso. In fact, just about everything hurt, but he was distracted by something sniffing his face. He frowned and blew air up to shoo it away, but that only seemed to excite whatever was checking him out. It made a loud squeak that hurt his ears and then he felt a hand on his forehead.

"Are you sure?" The unfamiliar voice was high-pitched and almost certainly a child's.

Another unnecessarily loud squeak. Ash's eyebrow twitched with annoyance further spurred on by his suffering body and he growled. "Quiet…"

An irritatingly loud gasp. He really wasn't feeling up to dealing with people right now, but whoever this was obviously wasn't going away. The person- possibly a girl, he decided- called in the opposite direction. "Master! He's awake!"

A third loud squeak mirrored the shout and Ash opened his eyes if only to glare at whoever it was. He wanted to sleep! What the heck was this person even doing in his room, anyway?! Not even Gary was-

-the memories of the St. Anne suddenly rushed into his mind and Ash realized he wasn't in his cabin anymore. He was lying on a cot, covered in bandages and unable to move very well.

The source of his now slightly lessened ire was a young girl, maybe a year or so younger than himself, with chocolate skin and a shock of long dark hair. The incessant squeaking belonged to a small, scaly creature with tusks jutting out of the corners of its mouth.

Ash's attention left the pair as a tall figure walked through the open door to the room. The newcomer was male and appeared to be quite old- maybe in his sixties or seventies. He stood over six feet tall with ease and his frame was massive, sporting broad shoulders and hard muscles. A white mustache was the only hair visible on his face and his head was covered by a seaman's hat. The man wore dark pants, boots, and a ragged trench coat, but bore no shirt beneath that, exposing a scarred chest and stomach. His eyes were fierce and stern, though not cruel.

When he spoke, he commanded attention with his deep, strong voice. "So you've decided to rejoin the living. Good."

The man glanced at the girl and her small Pokemon. "Iris, you're dismissed. Go to the mess and get yourself something to eat. I'll meet with you there after I'm finished here."

"Yes, sir!" She saluted childishly, then ran off with her Pokemon close behind.

Her elder snorted in amusement and looked back at Ash. "You have questions."

Ash just nodded. The man went on. "I do as well. And neither of us can wait long for answers. I shall tell you what is necessary for the time being and then you must answer my questions."

"I am Drake. I'm the Captain of this ship, the _Dragon King_. You might know me by another title- one of the Hoenn Region's Elite Four, Drake the Dragon Master."

Ash's eyes widened. As if he could forget such a name. Drake was a legendary trainer and an individual feared by the whole criminal underworld. Even Cipher had once shied away from this man's wrath. Now before him was the Dragon Master himself, who had reigned unchallenged as Champion of Hoenn for twenty five years from his throne until that title was claimed the current Champion a year or so ago. Even if he wasn't the Champion anymore, he was still monstrously powerful.

Drake noted the boy's awe with the briefest of amusement. "If you're done with the admiration, I'll move on."

"Yes, sir," Ash replied, still awestruck.

"Good. My vessel was heading to Cinnabar Island when we received word that the St. Anne was in distress. We've picked up reports here and there since then that Team Rocket was behind the sinking. Were they the ones behind this?"

He nodded. Drake didn't seem surprised, but his eyes narrowed just the slightest. "Tell me about them. Who commanded the attack? How did they destroy the ship? How did you survive?"

Ash ran the questions through his head for a few moments. Drake had spelled them out slowly and clearly, obviously aware that the boy was still recovering. He'd gotten his bearings though and did his best to answer the questions.

"Two Admins led the attack," he began slowly. "Their names are Petrel and Proton. Proton is their military commander. Anyways, he attacked me and a few others on the deck. We managed to fight him off for a while, but Petrel was doing something in the wheelhouse. There was something pulsing in the air that made our Pokemon really nervous."

Drake waited patiently for Ash to gather his memories. "I think Petrel caused the pulse to go off. Then the ocean glowed really brightly for a few moments and- and then there were so many Gyarados all over the place…"

The Captain raised an eyebrow sharply. "The flux of Gyarados was caused by the Rockets?"

"I think so. One moment the ocean was normal and the next you couldn't see the water for Gyarados," Ash clenched his fists as he recalled the masses of writhing coils, Hyper Beams being fired in every direction and blowing holes in the ship-

"-breathe," he jumped as Drake suddenly appeared in front of him, clasping a strong hand on the boy's shoulder. Ash realized his heart had sped up and a sheen of sweat was appearing on his skin. He breathed slowly to calm himself back down, pushing the terrible memory away for now. The Captain waited until he was fine again and then grunted. "Continue."

"Okay. The Admins got away on flying types- some huge black bird and a dragon I've never seen before," he frowned and did his best to recall the monstrosity commanded by Proton. "At least, I think it was a dragon? It had three heads and black scales…"

"A Hydreigon," Drake muttered. "How troublesome."

"We were on the deck when the Gyarados attacked the ship, so my friend and I flew off on our Pokemon. The Admins chased us and we couldn't lose them- they could see my Charizard's tail flame- so I separated from him to make them come after me instead."

"Pyro- my Charizard- got hit by a Hyper Beam and I recalled him before we hit the water. Then something ran into me and I got dragged along by it," Ash paused a moment. "I think it was the Gyarados from the beach. I got jammed between its crest. I'm not sure it even knew I was there, but it kept diving in and out of the water. At some point I guess it found an island and just…collapsed."

"I woke up later and got off of it. I didn't know if it would attack me when it woke up, so I captured it to be safe. Then I passed out again," he thought a little longer and finally concluded. "After that I woke up and there was another dragon with me."

"That would be my Salamence," Drake filled him in. You were lucky. If Salamence hadn't found you when he did, you would have died from dehydration and exposure. As it is, you have two broken ribs- I assume from being hit by the Gyarados, however small it is- sunburns over most of your body, and mild to severe bruising all over your torso."

He opened his mouth, but Drake beat him to the obvious question. "Just two days. The St. Anne sunk two nights ago. You were found by Salamence at noon the following day and you've been sleeping since. It's quite late right now, actually."

"Are my Pokemon okay?" Ash demanded. "What about my friends? They got away from the Rockets, but-"

"Peace," Drake held up a hand to silence him. The older man sighed. "Your Pokemon were sent to the Pokemon Center on Cinnabar Island, which is where we are about to make port. We couldn't fly you to the hospital there because of your injuries. Several of the six you had on your belt were wounded, but they will survive. As I recall, your Charizard was the worst off- that doesn't surprise me anymore since it took a Hyper Beam."

Ash felt relieved that his Pokemon were alright and Drake went on to reassure another worry. "As for your friends…Gary Oak, Leaf Verdant, and Norman Maple's family, yes? They survived as well. They were picked up on a lifeboat not long after the vessel sank. We've found several lifeboats since then, but a few are unaccounted for."

"Not all of them made it very far," he dipped his head, recalling the boat that had been obliterated by the Gyarados. No one would have survived that kind of onslaught. No way.

Drake's eyes darkened a shade. "I see."

There was an uncomfortable silence, but the Dragon Master eventually broke it. "Unfortunately, many people were lost in the wreck- only five hundred survivors have been found since it was destroyed. We don't know how many Pokemon were lost for now, but I'd estimate that more were lost than we'll ever truly know."

It felt like a black hole had opened up in his stomach and sucked all the joy out of him. If only five hundred people had survived, then the death toll must have amounted somewhere in the thousands. So many lives, gone forever…

"There's something else you need to know," Drake's voice lowered into a tone that was almost gentle and Ash stiffened. That was the tone of someone about to break some very bad news. "The Gyarados you captured- the one that pulled you ashore- is unlikely to survive."

Ash stared at him. "I…what?"

Drake looked at the boy's eyes calmingly, keeping a firm hand on his shoulder. "Your Gyarados is probably not going to make it, boy. She's dying."

He was too stunned to think. _"What?"_

The Captain sighed. "The doctors told me it's because she was forced to evolve much too early. That Gyarados is barely twelve feet long- as a Magikarp, she was probably only a few years old. A wild Magikarp usually evolves once they reach ten years. Such a small, immature body can't handle the strain an adult undergoes when it reaches evolution. The energy surge- particularly when Magikarp evolve into Gyarados- is often too great to survive."

"We've spotted dozens of Gyarados while we picked up survivors- almost all of them dead. A few of them lived, probably the ones old enough to withstand evolution, but most were killed by it. Their scales didn't even change color properly, including yours. They were almost all bright red instead of blue. Based on what you've told me, I think I can say with certainty that this mass evolutions as caused by Team Rocket, although how they managed to pull such an atrocity off is beyond me."

Ash was still trying to process what Drake was telling him, though his mind managed to absorb and interpret the Captain's words. The Gyarados that had saved him was dying. It didn't seem real thinking about it. Ash didn't know how to feel about the creature, either. Gyarados had never known he had tagged along for the ride- she had probably been overcome with the agony of her forced evolution. She'd been turned into one of over a hundred suicide bomber Pokemon by being made to undergo that change.

But even if Gyarados hadn't meant to save him, even if she had attacked the St. Anne and hurt or even killed people, she had saved Ash's life. But she might never know it. And he might never get to thank her for it.

Because she was dying.

"Oh," Ash wasn't sure how he managed to say something coherent or if it was even a correct response. His voice sounded oddly hollow to him. "She's dying."

"Yes," Drake murmured. He squeezed the boy's shoulder. "It hasn't yet come to pass, but you need to prepare yourself for the worst. Should she fail to survive, her Ultra Ball will be able to house a new resident if you should wish it."

The room was silent for several moments that felt like an eternity. Drake stood up after a while. "Given the severity of the situation, it was brought to the attention of the Indigo Elite Four. Team Rocket has been officially designated as a terrorist group. Do your best to steer clear of them from now on. You only escaped this event by the skin of your teeth."

With that, he left Ash in peace. But his parting words had caused the boy's spine to stiffen and his hands curled into tight fists.

 _Steer clear?!_

His teeth ground against each other as his jaw clenched. As if that was even an option now.

* * *

As soon as the _Dragon King_ made port in Cinnabar, Ash was transferred to a hospital and had to undergo several treatments there for his moderate to severe injuries. Fortunately, there would be no permanent damage aside from a few scars, although his sunburn was going to hurt for a while and his cracked ribs would take three or four weeks to heal completely. All things considered, he'd been lucky.

He was cleared for visitors, but his Pokemon were still recuperating. The doctors had allowed him to have a short video call with the local Nurse, who gave him a brief run down on his team's condition.

"Your Krookodile is more or less completely fine," Nurse Joy began with a smile. That didn't surprise Ash. Sobek hadn't actually been injured during the battle against Proton aside from when Rhydon had used Earthquake. "Your Dratini is also doing well. Both of them are a little stressed, but I'm sure they'll recover once you're able to see them again. I can send them to you, if you want."

"Please," Ash said gratefully. He needed his Pokemon with him now. "What about the others?"

Joy's smile faded slightly. "Well, your Poliwrath, Duskull, and Eevee had some puncture wounds, but fortunately they didn't hit anything vital. I've applied Ditto cells to the wounds just to be safe, though. Your Duskull's mask is just going to take time to regenerate, but he doesn't have flesh and blood like the other two. Poliwrath and Eevee are going to take a little while to heal. They lost a fair amount of blood even if the wounds didn't reach vital points."

His fist clenched and Ash mentally put a bullseye on Petrel's Zoroark. That thing would get what was coming to it, he swore.

"Charizard is in a similar state," she went on, snapping Ash back to attention. "He took a Hyper Beam rather cleanly. His scales were damaged and he was bleeding when I received him, although the injury was more or less superficial. Thankfully, I'm of the opinion that he'll be fine- Charizard are a hardy species. He'll recover in a few days- he'll just be a little tired from the healing process."

That was a relief. Ash hadn't gotten a chance to see how badly hurt Pyro was, but his starter had seemed to be in real pain after being blasted by the Gyarados. He was grateful that the injury wasn't as bad as he'd thought.

With his main team more or less in the clear, Ash moved to a graver topic. "How's the Gyarados I captured?"

Joy rubbed her forehead tiredly. She looked exhausted. Ash bet that she'd probably been treating injured Pokemon from the St. Anne ever since they started coming in. Regardless of her current state, she kept a professional attitude and gave him the information that he'd asked for.

"Speaking honestly, she's in a very bad way," Joy admitted. "That Gyarados is the smallest one I've ever seen. She's barely twelve feet long- the average newly evolved Gyarados is twenty feet. Her body is terribly strained from being forced to evolve and she's underdeveloped. The most major damage is internal. Her brain waves are unstable and now that she's not running on the adrenaline from evolving, her muscles aren't even strong enough to let her move. If she survives the aftereffects of the forced evolution, she'll need reconditioning to strengthen her body. Otherwise, she'll suffocate under her own weight."

"I've been forced to put her in stasis while she's being treated- and I will not wake her up unless I'm certain she'll survive. If she doesn't respond to the treatment in seventy-two hours, then I will have to put her down for her own good."

Ash's heart sank. It sounded like Gyarados was already on the verge of succumbing to her condition, but he swallowed hard and tried to find something positive. "Let's assume she survives. What happens then?"

"I shouldn't tell you," she muttered. "It'd be cruel to get your hopes up. The odds of her surviving are quite low."

"What if she survives?" He pressed.

Joy sighed and grudgingly gave him what he wanted. "Like I said, she'll have to undergo reconditioning. You're looking at at least a month just to get her to move properly and longer for her to learn any attacks- and relearn the ones she knew beforehand. Right now, she can't even use Splash. As far as her health in the future is concerned, I'm not sure what you can expect, but the possibility of lasting damage is there. Her scales might never change to the normal blue color for one and I'm not sure if she'll grow to full size, either."

"You'll have to experiment to see what she can do in battle. I'm not sure yet if the organs that control energy in her body were damaged or not- I can't scan her now without risking brain damage. If she improves, then I'll be able to give you a better idea about that, but if those organs have been damaged then she'll never be able to use anything beyond Tackle and Bite in battle."

Ash swallowed again. There really wasn't any good news for Gyarados right now. If she survived, she could be crippled for the rest of her life. Would she want that? Did he have to right to put her through such a thing, a creature he didn't even know, just because he felt like he owed it to her for saving his life? Would death be kinder?

He forced that thought away and let his eyes drop to the floor. His chest was tight.

Joy seemed to decide that the boy had had enough and offered a small smile from the other side of the screen. "I'll let you know if anything changes. In the meantime, let me send over Krookodile and Dratini."

Ash just nodded. The transfer was done quickly and he murmured his thanks to the Nurse as she returned to what would undoubtedly be a long shift. Then Ash was escorted back to his room by the doctor, who ordered him to get some rest.

Once the door was locked, Ash released Sobek and Jasmine, who immediately locked onto their trainer. Ash imagined he probably didn't look all that great, colored bright red with bandages wrapped over his torso and wearing a blue hospital gown. His bag and clothes had been soaked and were currently being dried in one of the hospital's laundry rooms.

He offered a weak smile to his Pokemon. "Hey, you two. We're alive."

Sobek merely nodded, but Jasmine slithered onto the bed and trilled at him in a worried tone. Ash scratched her behind the ears and the little dragon leaned into his touch. She coiled up next to him and eventually rested her head in his lap, looking about as comfortable as Ash wished he could be right now.

Ash glanced at Sobek and saw the Krookodile eyeing him carefully, like he was trying to figure out just how hurt his trainer was. The boy got his attention by whistling lowly. "Hey. We're all alive. The others are still being treated, but we're all alive. Don't worry."

Sobek snorted at that, like he didn't fully believe Ash. He couldn't say he was surprised given his current appearance, but the Krookodile's frame lost a bit of tension. Sobek stalked over to the end of the bed and crawled into it, curling up there as Ash pressed a button on the nearby wall to dim the lights.

Sleep sounded perfect right now.

* * *

 **A/N: Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope you are all enjoying yourselves, wherever you are! This chapter concludes the St. Anne Arc and the next will lead us on to the next part of Challenger! Also, we've hit a huge milestone- over 600 reviews! In addition, Challenger has over 1,200 favorites and followers! This is officially the most successful story I've ever written and I hope you'll continue to support Challenger as it grows! Once again, thank you so much for your fantastic support! Now, onto the review responses for chapter fifteen!**

 **Komodo23: I have to be honest, I was a little miffed by your choice of Poliwrath. I was hoping for Politoed to have more of a role of special attacker with waterbending hijinks and tricks (the team isn't bad, but it seems to swerve a bit too much towards physical/mixed powerhouses) but that last scene Poliwrath vs Blastoise was so awesome it sold me on your choice completely! Also, HUGE kudos for choosing Cubchoo. I was worried the story was going to become fan pandering, happy to see that dodged as well with a relatively unpopular Pokemon. Can't wait to see how you handle him! Keep up the good work! P.S. Team pokemon Sun here. Jojo-Stand like mosquito is too good to pass on.**

 **-I'm glad you ended up liking Poliwrath! I knew he needed a defining moment to really validate his strength, so I decided to put him against Blastoise early on when I was planning this fight. Of course, he's still developing just as the rest of the team is, but now he's got a firm place to grow from here on out! Cubchoo was a Pokemon that took a long time to decide on (I think I ran through about fifteen different species before finally settling on Cubchoo) but I've got a lot planned for him now that he's a part of the team! In response to your P.S., I'm not super fond of the mosquito personally, but I love the Sun Version Lycanroc a ton!**

 **stars90: Excellent work, as usual. I must say, I was surprised that Ash took down Gary the way he did- having Douse beat Blatoise truly one on one was an interesting decision, especially since Blastoise is Gary's starter and Douse is its match in type. Can't wait to see what you do with the Rockets. I get the distinct impression their plans aren't gonna go quite the way they want...**

 **-Thank you! Actually, I had to think about that battle a lot for it to work in a way that made sense, but it came down mostly to Douse having an advantage over Blastoise- since Douse's ability is Water Absorb, (which Gary DID know) Blastoise's water attacks were basically useless and forced it to rely on its other techniques. And because both of them were newly evolved, that advantage ultimately gave Douse the edge in battle and allowed him to pull through! As for the Rockets, their plans haven't quite fallen through, have they? But they still did a load of damage.**

 **XXXpossessedforlifeXXX:** **I'll admit, quite disappointed that the mystery Pokemon was a Cubchoo rather than a fossil or dragon Pokemon. Consider giving him a Cranidos or Anorith? Not many stories have Ash with those Pokemon. Remember, he needs more Kanto Pokemon, unless you'll have him capture more Kanto Pokemon in foreign regions to balance this out. I believe Duskull should have evolved by now, after all its been a long time since Ash caught it. You should evolve Dratini within the next two chapters honestly. I sincerely hope Eevee will evolve into an Espeon, and hopefully you'll disregard the fairy type in this fic? Hopefully again Rhydon and Aerodactyl will find themselves on Ash's team soon. Another water-type Pokemon would be nice, too, since Poliwrath focuses a lot more on fighting than special attack, I think a Gyarados would do well. Its all your choice, but hopefully you'll at least consider most of these.**

 **-Well, I'm sorry you don't like Cubchoo, but I think you'll warm up to him in time! I didn't want to give him a fossil or a dragon Pokemon as the prize- that's WAY too overdone for my liking. As fossil Pokemon go, Ash may obtain one in the future, but not quite yet and he won't be getting an Anorith unfortunately. Anorith is a Pokemon that TheStraightElf is giving Ash in Traveler, and I don't wish for my story to seem like a carbon copy of his masterpiece. And I wouldn't say Ash necessarily needs more Kanto Pokemon. It's not like there's a restriction on how many Pokemon he has to have from each region, y'know? Alas, Duskull's evolution is going to take time, as is Dratini's. Their development cannot be rushed. Eevee's evolution is still to be decided, but the fairy type will not be disregarded in this story. There are a few fairy type species that I'm rather fond of, you see, and I do intend for them to make an appearance in Challenger. I can't comment on the Rhydon and Aerodactyl situation either, although we will be getting some info about Rhydon fairly soon. As far as another water type goes, I think you've gotten part of that decision in this chapter, yes?**

 **Shinigami no Koneko:** **I'm new to this story and already I have so much love for it. It's got everything I look for in a story! Adventure, humor, action, a bit of drama and just a dash of hurt/comfort to keep me wanting more. That scene with Eevee and the nightmare? Beautiful! I just hope you don't get into the habit of leaving cliff hanger. I look forward to the next chapter, until then, please keep up the good work!**

 **-I'm glad you're enjoying it! There will be lots more of everything in the future as well, I promise! But as far as the cliffhangers go...I make no promises! I rather thrive on getting everyone riled up and excited for the next chapter!**

 **That's it for review responses for this chapter! As ever, please review and thanks for reading!**

 **P.S. Spectre wishes you all a happy Halloween!**

 **P.P.S. Spectre also just found out that he's allowed to scare people all he wants for tonight. I probably shouldn't have told him that...oh, dear.**

 **Spectre might be floating to a neighborhood near you! If you're trying to find him, just follow the screams!**


	17. Home

_Chapter Seventeen: Home_

Four days after the St. Anne sank, Ash finally got to meet up with Gary, Leaf, and Norman's family again.

The doctor had insisted on him staying in bed to let his ribs and sunburn heal, so he was sitting up in his bed going through his Pokedex when a loud knock heralded the arrival of his friends. Fortunately for Ash, he had been allowed to change into some clean clothes and was no longer stuck in that ridiculous hospital gown.

Gary pushed the door open and spotted Ash on the bed, leading the way for the others. There was a tense air about them, but it was mostly covered by their relief. Gary and Leaf both seemed uneasy. Norman looked like he hadn't slept for too long and Caroline was holding Max's hand while the little boy fidgeted nervously. May was standing just behind her father, but she smiled at him brightly.

"You look like crap," Gary finally said after a moment of awkward silence.

Ash snorted as he set his Pokedex down. "I guess I do."

Jasmine trilled at the group and slithered off the bed to nuzzle up to May. The girl giggled and patted Jasmine, who accepted the contact happily. The sight brought a brief smile to Norman's exhausted face, but it faded as the man looked at Ash again. Sobek was dozing and opened one eye to take the group in, though it closed after a moment.

"How are you?" Leaf asked quietly. She was averting her eyes from him. "The doctor said you were pretty roughed up."

He shrugged. "I'm fine. I got a few broken ribs and I'm sunburnt, but that's pretty much it."

"And your Pokemon?" Gary queried.

"All of them are okay," Ash sighed. "I got Cubchoo to the Professor before the Rockets hit. Pyro and the others were hurt, but I talked with the nurse and she said they'll be fine. It wasn't that bad. The Gyarados I caught isn't doing that well, though."

Norman raised an eyebrow, so Ash went on. "The Gyarados that hit me ended up dragging me to some scrap of land. We both passed out and I caught it when I woke back up. She's in stasis while Joy works on her."

"I see," the man muttered. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Oh yeah," Gary interjected suddenly. "I called my grandpa earlier. Everyone back home knows that we're okay. I didn't tell him if any of us got hurt, but seeing as none of us got really messed up, I think it's fine."

Guilt washed over Ash. He hadn't even thought about home or his mother following the attack. His mind had been singularly focused on the Rockets and his Pokemon. His mother had probably been horrified when she heard about the attack and he hadn't even tried to get in touch with her. He made a silent promise to call her as soon as he was alone again.

"So what happens now?" Ash asked quietly.

Norman straightened a little. "We recover. Caroline and I will be taking May and Max back to Vermillion today. Once the fall semester is over, I'll be working with Surge to earn my Gym Leader permit."

"The three of us are heading back to Pallet Town," Leaf replied. "Professor Oak asked us to take a break at home and catch up with our families. There's still nearly a year and a half before the Indigo Conference, so…there's no rush in getting our remaining badges. We might stay for a month."

Ash shook his head. "I'm going to hit the road again as soon as I'm better. My team and I need to get stronger."

Leaf frowned at him. "You're not thinking about fighting Team Rocket again…are you?"

He scowled. "I'm not going to fight them. I'm going to wipe them out."

The girl's face hardened. "Absolutely _not-_ "

"Can we not talk about this right now?" Caroline interrupted tiredly. "I've had enough of Team Rocket to last a lifetime."

Ash's scowl faded, but the tension all over his body didn't. Leaf was glaring at him as well. This conversation obviously wasn't over.

Norman shook his head. "We came by to say our goodbyes to you three. I truly enjoyed being with you all on the ship. It was fun, but sadly it's time for my family to go home."

Gary nodded. "It was a blast. I'll have to come by Vermillion again sometime- I want to battle that Slaking of yours."

Norman cracked a smile. "I'm sure he'd appreciate a good challenge."

"We'll come by if we're ever in the area to say hello," Leaf promised. "I'd like to see you all again. Oh! Caroline, maybe you can show me how you cook next time I visit?"

Caroline's face brightened. "I'd enjoy that, Leaf. I'm looking forward to it."

May walked over to Ash's bedside and smiled at him. "Please come visit soon? I wanna play with Eevee and Jasmine again!"

"I'm sure they'd like that," he smiled back tiredly. "Next time I'll bring Cubchoo as well. You didn't get to meet him yet. Maybe you can see Pikachu, too."

"I'd like that," she said shyly. May suddenly crawled onto the bed and threw her small body at Ash to give him a hug. He winced at the pressure on his ribs, but managed to return the gesture. When the little girl pulled back, she offered him an even bigger smile. "Make sure you win all your battles! I'll be cheering for you!"

Ash ruffled her hair fondly with one hand. "I'll do my best."

Norman came forward to lead his little girl away and nodded at Ash. "Thank you again for saving us from the Rockets."

He looked up to meet Gary's eyes as well. "Both of you. You two are some brave young men. But never forget that there are people who care about your wellbeing. Don't ever throw yourselves away carelessly."

Gary nodded seriously. Ash dipped his head just a little, unable to promise such a thing. His grudge against Team Rocket was far too deep-seated for him to just drop it. He would be more careful from now on, yes, but he was going to go after them again one way or another.

Max hesitated a moment and then darted forward to hug Sobek's face. The massive Krookodile's eyes opened in bewilderment, but once he saw it was Max, his gaze softened fractionally and he made a rumbling sound in response to the little boy. He wouldn't hurt the child- as much as he would deny it, Sobek was actually rather fond of the young siblings.

"Well," Norman offered a smile to the three young trainers. "I wish you luck with your Gym Leader battles. If we can get tickets, we'll be watching you in person at the Indigo Conference in a year. Thank you again."

May and Max chorused their goodbyes to the three friends as their parents ushered them out of the room. Ash would be lying if he said he wouldn't miss them, but he was sure they'd meet again. And he didn't doubt they would be just as enthusiastic as they were before.

The door closed with a quiet click and Ash glanced at his friends. Gary took a seat in the chair by the bed and settled into it while Leaf sat down at the end of Ash's bed. Sobek gave a mild growl for her weight shifting the mattress, but she quelled the volatile creature by scratching the scales under his jaw. Sure enough, Sobek quieted and leaned into her touch, enjoying the attention as long as it was offered to him.

There was an awkward silence for several minutes. It seemed that none of them were quite sure what to say next.

Gary broke the quiet spell after a little while. "So, how do we want to start that training at home?"

Ash felt relieved that he'd brought up a topic like that. He really didn't want to talk about Team Rocket or the St. Anne right now. Leaf frowned at the pair of them, but she didn't say anything.

"I've still got to assess Cubchoo, but we should probably ask the Professor first," Ash began to reply. "After that, maybe we can group our Pokemon together based on what they need to be learning. I was thinking of putting Pyro with Pidgeot and Talon so that they can practice fighting in the air…"

Their conversation continued like that for over an hour. Eventually, even Leaf got into it despite how obviously uneasy she appeared to be. Ash wasn't sure exactly what was on her mind, but he guessed it was probably because of the Rocket attack. Even with the cataclysm still in the background of their thoughts, the distraction of training was appreciated by all three young trainers.

But the painfully fresh memories never completely went away.

* * *

Ash had his arms tightly crossed as he watched Nurse Joy operate on the red Gyarados from the other side of a large glass panel. It had been two days since the Maple family left Cinnabar to return to Vermillion and the doctor had given Ash permission to leave the hospital as long as he didn't overdo things. Fortunately, the island town was fairly small and the Pokemon Center was right next to the hospital.

Joy had since returned the rest of Ash's team to him, though they were all tired from their various treatments and just wanted to sleep. He let them get the rest they deserved, but he also wanted to check in on Gyarados. Even if the creature was in stasis, Ash had to see her with his own eyes. Despite the nurse's attempts to dissuade him, he remained stubborn and eventually Joy gave in. She needed to apply the next treatment to Gyarados anyways, or so she told him.

Lying on a rather long operating table, Gyarados looked incredibly small. Ash knew that she was very undersized for her species, but even then, she was just…tiny. For a twelve foot-long creature, that statement should have been contradictory, yet he could think of no other word to describe her. She was obviously frail and her discolored scales were incredibly small. A big Gyarados would have scales as large as the palm of his hand. Her fangs were little as well, but her whole body just looked emaciated. She was much too thin and even in stasis, Ash thought that he'd never seen such a miserable creature.

In an effort to find some kind of positivity, Ash pulled out his Pokedex and looked up Gyarados from the other side of the glass. He chose not to scan her physically like he usually did with his team- Joy's warning about Gyarados' unstable brain waves had him too nervous to do that- but he was able to pull her data from the Pokedex. Since he'd captured her, she'd automatically been registered and he could look at her status from back then. It wouldn't be as accurate as a live scan, but it wasn't like Gyarados had learned a new move in the time since he'd caught her.

He waited a few moments for the information to pull up and then the usual female voice began to recite Gyarados' data.

 _Gyarados, the Atrocious Pokemon. They are rarely seen in the wild. When Magikarp evolves into Gyarados, its brain cells undergo a structural transformation. It is theorized that this transformation is responsible for their highly aggressive behavior. Once Gyarados goes on a rampage, it will not calm down until it has destroyed everything in the immediate vicinity. There is a record in ancient literature of a Gyarados that once burned down a whole village._

 _This Gyarados is female and knows the moves: Splash, Tackle, and Bite. Its ability is Intimidate, which can frighten weaker opponents. Warning: Gyarados are highly aggressive and should only be handled by expert trainers. Approach with caution._

The warning didn't surprise him much, but Ash almost snorted at the irony. Right now, Gyarados was the most harmless Pokemon he had. She couldn't even twitch, let alone rampage. That wasn't actually a good thing, but at least she couldn't hurt herself or anyone else like this.

His attention was caught by the door to the operating room opening. Joy stepped out with an exhausted look in her eyes, wiping some of the tiredness from her face as Ash met her. The nurse took a deep breath and managed to put a slight smile on her face.

"She's looking a little better. Her brain waves are still shaky, but that's mostly due to her recent evolution at this point. The serious brain and organ damage I was afraid of aren't present, either. Her muscles are underdeveloped and her energy organs will need lots of work, but from what I'm seeing, her chances are a fair bit higher now. I don't think I'll have to euthanize her."

Ash's shoulders sagged from relief. So Gyarados didn't have a death sentence anymore. She was still in a bad way, but at least her chances were better. It was a start.

"Depending on how she does in the next twenty four hours or so, I can send her to Professor Oak for you," Joy offered. "She's in no condition to be traveling with you, but I know that the Professor has facilities for sick and injured Pokemon like Gyarados. How you'll handle her from there is something you should ask him about."

"I'll do that," Ash said gratefully. He dipped his head to the tired woman. "Thank you for helping her."

"It's what I do," she replied, rubbing more sleep from her eyes. "And with this checkup done, I can finally get a little sleep…"

He grinned a bit. "I'll leave you to it, then."

With that, the exhausted Nurse left to take a well-deserved break and Ash spent only a moment more watching Gyarados before he followed her out to the main area of the Pokemon Center. Gyarados needed rest and he wanted to figure out what Gary and Leaf were up to.

His stomach rumbled suddenly and Ash sighed. He could see them after lunch.

* * *

 _"_ _Stark Mountain in the Sinnoh Region. The landscape is harsh and treacherous, meaning that only the strongest and hardiest of Pokemon are capable of thriving here. Amongst the species which call the mountains home are Infernape and their lower evolutions, Monferno and Chimchar. They travel in large troops of anywhere between twenty to thirty of their kind. This particular troop is made up of mostly females and their young, the lowest members of the clan. However, one of their members, a young male Infernape, has recently evolved and is unable to play with the juveniles anymore."_

 _"_ _To keep his place in the clan, he must try to break into the ranks of the larger alpha males, who hold all the power in the troop. Joining this tight-knit gang is every young male's goal. It is the path to privilege, but it's an extremely dangerous task. Dominant males live savage lives, as they battle each other on a daily basis to protect their own positions in the troop. They have little patience for young males trying to break into their thresh and have been known to exile or even kill juveniles that do not live up to their expectations."_

 _"_ _If this young Infernape is to have any position at all in the clan from here on out, he must impress at least one of the dominant males. Without a teacher or someone to vouch for him, he risks losing his place in the troop and perhaps his very life. To succeed means access to the best food and the attention of females, who will only mate with the most powerful members of the elite gang. The strongest males are often the ones with the most intense flame crests, which can turn blue or even white when they become agitated. Few enemies are eager to challenge a group of aggressive male Infernape, with the exceptions of other Infernape or the disorganized gangs of Magmortar and Magmar living closest to the volcano…"_

The corners of Ash's lips curled up into a grin as he heard a disagreeable snarl next to his bed. He glanced towards Pyro, who sneered at the television portraying the fiery, aggressive apes with disdain. Ash would bet his bottom dollar that his starter would be daring enough to challenge the powerful fire types from the Sinnoh Region. He didn't care if they were the meanest, nastiest Infernape on the mountain- Pyro would still go after them, if only to prove which of them was the stronger fire type.

Oh, Ash could tell that they were strong; the Infernape on the television moved with incredible speed and possessed an astounding sense of acrobatics. Not to mention their attacks all looked powerful, but when they fought each other, it seemed like the first Infernape to score two or three good hits won the fight. They weren't as durable as certain other fire type Pokemon he knew. Then again, they were living in the wild where a serious injury had the potential of resulting in death, but that wouldn't matter to Pyro.

The monkeys could be the dominant members of their clans, so long as they knew that _he_ was the dominant fire type. That went for the Magmortar and Magmar too, even if the Charizard had no idea what those actually looked like. This documentary had only mentioned their names- it had yet to showcase that line of fire types and Ash would be impressed if the group of researchers studying the wildlife around Stark Mountain were ballsy enough to actually get close enough to film a group of that savage line of Pokemon.

Magmortar and Magmar, he had read in the Pokedex, were some of the most brutal fighters there were. Their incredibly hot bodies meant that few enemies could get close enough to hurt them and even fewer could withstand their violent and superheated attacks. It took a highly skilled trainer to gain the respect of that evolutionary line, which was why Blaine, the Gym Leader here on Cinnabar, was considered to be one of the most powerful in Kanto. The man was said to be equal to Giovanni and Sabrina. That was easy for Ash to believe since Blaine had once been a member of the Elite Four; he had retired that position to Bruno a while back, but Ash didn't doubt for a minute that he was still ferociously strong.

"You'll get a shot at them someday, Pyro," Ash assured his starter, who was curled up on the floor next to his bed. The Charizard flicked his fiery tail and made a guttural growl, but made sure to keep his tail flame on the fireproof blanket. Ash's forehead creased in a slight frown at the display.

Pyro had been in a foul mood since Ash retrieved him from the Pokemon Center. The boy assumed it was because of the events of the St. Anne- they had thought they were catching up to the Rocket Admins' level of power, but Proton and Petrel had showed them how hilariously outgunned they were. Of course, being inferior to their greatest enemy made Pyro utterly furious and more ambitious than ever to gain power, but this was pushing it even for him. He had made a habit of snarling quietly at seemingly nothing and letting flames bubble up in his jaws.

For the first time, Ash felt wary of his starter. Pyro was getting dangerously edgy and he needed an outlet, one that could not be found in the hospital here. He had actually tried to pick a fight with Sobek right here in Ash's room until their trainer barked at them to knock it off. Sobek had obeyed first for once.

They needed to get to Pallet Town. There, Ash could let Pyro battle anyone on the team and he could also go up against Gary and Leaf's parties. Maybe even Professor Oak would humor him with one of the ridiculously powerful Pokemon he kept on the ranch at all times. Ash would pay good money to see his starter go up against Oak's Dragonite. Anything to make Pyro stronger and keep him happy. Combat was in his blood.

Eevee shifted in his lap and yawned cutely before settling back down. Ash pursed his lips at the little normal type, who bore bandages along her flanks to cover her wounds. She'd been extra cuddly lately. Not that he was complaining, but something about her felt more…relaxed than before. It was like she'd dropped another wall for him after her nightmare on the St. Anne, hopefully the last one. The months of effort and tender care had done wonders for her. Ash still had no idea what her preference was in regards to evolution, but he supposed that she would make that decision in her own time.

Sobek was lying on the end of his bed, mouth agape as he dozed. He could be sleeping if one of his eyes wasn't cracked open just the slightest to stare at Pyro, who had angered the Krookodile with his earlier goading. Sobek seemed determined to not fall asleep before his Charizard ally, despite how obviously tired he was. There was an air of agitation between the pair that would have to be dealt with in Pallet Town.

Ash had a feeling he was going to watch that particular fight carefully.

The far wall next to the TV was currently occupied by Douse, who was using said wall as a way to keep himself balanced while he held a handstand. It was an easy feat for the Poliwrath with his great strength, so Ash simply assumed that Douse was just doing it for fun. That was fine for now as long as he didn't overdo things- he was still healing, after all. When they got back to Pallet, he would have his hands full with training.

Spectre had taken Ash's hat and was currently lying on the bed nearest the window, where he could look out at the night sky. He had been using the hat to hide the broken tooth on the right side of his mask- Spectre had been mortified by the realization that his mask was broken. Ash had attempted to reassure the Duskull that it would heal with a little time, but Spectre was inconsolable. It was a side of the ghost that Ash didn't know even existed. He wasn't sure if it was fear or embarrassment or both. Whatever it was, Spectre hadn't so much as looked at any of the others without the hat covering his damaged mask.

No amount of trying to encourage Spectre had improved his mood. Ash had reluctantly decided to give his friend time alone to recover from the mental and physical shock before he tried again. Unless things got worse. Then he would step in and wouldn't budge until he found a way to help the little ghost.

Of course, Jasmine was huddled up close to Eevee. Her long body rested alongside Ash's legs on the bed and her head nuzzled at the small normal type, who pressed back against her. She'd also been extra cuddly since the St. Anne, but once Eevee was retrieved from the Pokemon Center, her attention was solely focused on her friend. She was surprisingly fierce in defending Eevee, even snapping at the irate Pyro with an aggressive hiss when the Charizard's incessant growls threatened to wake Eevee from her sleep. Pyro had been so surprised by the usually-tranquil Dratini's anger that he hadn't actually figured out how to reply.

Their trainer didn't know whether to be concerned or amused by the interaction. All he knew was that they would all be more relaxed when they had more space to move around. Staying in this little hospital room was confining for all of them, Ash included.

They needed to get out of here.

Ash sighed as Pyro finally set his head down on the floor and curled up, apparently resigning himself to sleep. His eyes didn't leave the television screen as the documentary showcased a pair of Infernape battling each other, but at least he was calming. Although, Ash could practically feel the tension radiating off of his starter.

He lay back against the fluffy white pillows and watched the documentary lazily, waiting for sleep to come and take him into its dark comfort…

* * *

"Well, I suppose you're fine to leave," the doctor told Ash with a sigh. "Ideally, I'd like for you to stay here another few days. But if you insist…"

"My Pokemon and I need to go," Ash replied politely. "They're going crazy in here. If I can leave, then I really need to go so they can settle down. Plus my friends are already set to go. They were just waiting on me."

"I understand. Very well, you're clear to leave," he declared. "Take it easy for a couple of weeks, but there shouldn't be any lasting damage. You just need rest at this point."

The boy nodded. "Thank you."

With that, he turned and walked out of the hospital lobby. Ash straightened his hat as he stepped outside and felt the Cinnabar heat wash over him in a wave. Pyro would probably love it outside, but there was no way Ash was about to set him loose in a populated area- not right now while he was trying to pick a fight at every turn. He also wanted to check out the Gym, but word was that Blaine had his hands tied dealing with the St. Anne incident. Ash supposed that wasn't surprising.

He headed for the docks to the north of the island instead, since Gary had told him earlier about a boat there that could take them all to the small port in Pallet Town. Gary and Leaf had decided to wait on Ash until he was able to leave. They'd been crashing in a small hotel that had given victims of the incident free rooms for a few days, but Ash had called them earlier in the morning to let them know he would be able to go.

His plan was to meet up with them at the docks and then head home. The boat ride to Pallet would take up most of the day.

Ash kicked a nearby stone on the path that would take him to the ship. His thoughts had been haunting him for days now.

He still hadn't figured out what he was supposed to tell him mother about this latest batch of chaos.

He didn't know what to do now that Team Rocket appeared to be actively targeting him. Hopefully, they'd think he was dead…until the next inevitable encounter. Ash really doubted that he'd escaped from their radar forever.

Thousands of people and Pokemon were dead. Because of _him_.

His mind trailed to Gyarados. She'd survived the initial effects of her premature evolution, but there was no telling if she'd be truly healthy ever again. As it was, she'd be staying at the Cinnabar Pokemon Center for another day or so before Joy sent her over to Professor Oak's lab.

He arrived at the docks after about twenty minutes of walking. Thankfully, the ship was ready to go shortly after he got there and met up with his friends. Gary gave him a shout and a wave to call him over, though Leaf glanced away after shooting him a brief smile. Ash's heart sank a little as they boarded the small vessel.

Leaf had barely spoken to him ever since they'd met up in the hospital.

Everything was a mess right now.

He had to get stronger.

* * *

"Sheesh, about time," Gary muttered as they disembarked the ship. They'd finally arrived at Pallet Town's southern docks, although they were little more than a few small piers for ships. Leaf led the boys off the ship and Ash followed behind Gary, stretching his arms over his head.

It had been a long, twelve hour ride to get to Pallet Town. Ash had slept most of the way. Even though they'd left at eight in the morning, it was already dark outside here at home.

Home. Ash couldn't wait to get to his house and see his mother.

The trio thanked the captain for giving them a ride and made straight for the path that would take them to Pallet Town. They picked up the pace as the small, simple houses became visible to their eyes. Ash's gaze locked onto his own house. As soon as he saw it, he broke into a jog, ignoring the way his sunburn and ribs flared slightly.

Gary and Leaf bolted past him on their way to the lab and her house respectively. Gary shouted a goodbye to his friends as he took off, though Leaf didn't say a word as she took the first right on the path on her way home.

He'd see them tomorrow. Ash wanted to be home. Now.

It took him only a couple of minutes of jogging to get to his house. Ash stood in front of the door as he tried to catch his breath. His ribs ached and his skin felt much too hot. His eyes trailed over the familiar building as he recovered, feeling nervousness bubble up in his stomach.

His hand rose up to the door and he knocked twice.

"Coming!" The voice of his mother was easily heard from inside the house. Ash bet she was in the kitchen like she always was after getting home from work at the lab. He waiting impatiently for three seconds before the lock clicked and the door swung inside.

Delia's mouth opened as her eyes fixed on her guest, but the words died in her throat as she realized it was her son. Ash offered a hesitant smile. "Hey, mo- _oof!"_

His breath was forced from his lungs as Delia swept Ash into a firm hug. Ash wheezed when his ribs and skin flared in protest, but he managed to wrap his arms around his mother in response. She crushed him in her embrace and held on tightly for nearly a minute before finally loosening her grip.

"I'm so glad you're okay," her voice wavered shakily. Delia's hands came up to cup his face and she rubbed the red skin of his cheeks with her thumb. He could see tears in his mother's eyes and the sight made his heart throb painfully. "Come in, please."

She led him into the house and Ash took a moment to glance around. Everything was normal as ever. It was like he hadn't even left- spotless and neat, with a few papers from Delia's work on the kitchen table and the smell of something phenomenal coming from the oven. He salivated on reflex.

Ash set his bag and hat down on the table and turned to look at his mother again. Delia's eyes trailed him up and down for several moments in silence. Her lips pursed. "Were you hurt?"

"I got sunburnt a little and couple of my ribs got cracked," Ash replied hesitantly. He scratched the back of his head and tried not to wince as the motion made his torso echo those words in physical pain. "But that's all. I'm okay."

"You're not okay," Delia sighed. "You look exhausted, Ashy. I'll put some aloe on those burns before you go to bed."

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded. Ash _was_ tired, but he wanted to stay up for a while longer with his mother. He'd missed her.

Her lips twitched up in a somber smile. "Leaf and Gary came back with you, right?"

He nodded again. "Yeah, but they went home already. We just…we just wanted to go home once we docked. They'll probably be at the Professor's lab tomorrow."

"I see," Delia's foot tapped slightly against the floor in that way when she was thinking. "Were they hurt?"

Ash shook his head. "They made it off the St. Anne alright. We got separated when it happened."

"And your Pokemon?"

"They're all fine," he told her. "Some of them got hurt fighting, but it's nothing major."

Delia's head bobbed up and down slightly for a few seconds as she processed that. "I'm so glad…When I saw the news, I…Oh, sweetie, I didn't know if I was going to see you again…"

She turned her face to the side for a moment to wipe her eyes and Ash's heart clenched as he realized her whole frame was trembling. She must have been terrified when she found out what had happened to the St. Anne.

In a blur of motion, Delia rushed at him and engulfed him in another one of her tight hugs, though she kept the pressure on his torso light. Ash hugged her back and buried his face in her shoulder. Her presence and closeness helped make the darkness of the last few days flee his mind.

Delia's lips pressed against his head firmly. "Are you really okay, sweetie?"

Ash's mouth parted to assure her he was. "No."

But he couldn't lie to her. Not right now.

"I can tell," her voice was muffled by his messy black hair. "But you aren't ready to talk about it, are you?"

He shook his head. Ash's fingers clutched at her shirt tightly. He didn't want to let go of her.

"It's okay," she murmured. "I'm here whenever you need me. If you ever need to talk to someone, I am _always_ here, honey. Do you understand?"

"Yes," he managed. His throat felt raw. Delia squeezed him tighter when she heard him say that.

Their embrace lasted for several minutes. Ash would have held onto her like that even longer if he could, but they were separated by the sound of the kitchen timer going off.

"I need to get that," Delia sighed, reluctantly releasing her son. She kissed his forehead one more time before walking over to the oven and getting her mitts. Ash closed his eyes and took a deep breath for a moment, absorbing the fact that he was home and that everything was going to be okay.

For a little while, the dark thoughts were banished from his mind and he was able to smile honestly for the first time in what felt like forever.

It felt good to be home.

* * *

"So, how's Charmander?" Delia asked, giving Ash a curious look now that the emotional reunion had passed. Dinner had been absolute bliss for the boy; his stomach felt like it was bulging slightly and he was pretty sure he was on the verge of entering a food coma.

"He's great," Ash replied from his seat on the couch. Delia was in her usual chair while her son sprawled over the comfortable cushions nearby. After changing into the pajamas that were still kept in his room, it felt like he might just sink into the fabric. "He evolved into Charizard almost a month ago."

"That's great!" She exclaimed. "I can't wait to see him again. What other Pokemon do you have? It's been a while since- ah, I almost forgot!"

Delia suddenly made a short, loud whistle. Ash blinked in confusion until he heard the door to his mother's room, already cracked open slightly, push into the hall with a low creak. He leaned up and peered down the hall from over the couch to see who was there. To his delight, a familiar, small body covered in white fur was slowly trotting towards the living room, yawning cutely.

"Hey, Cubchoo!" Ash exclaimed.

The little cub perked up at his voice and made a little squeal, then hurried to the living room in a sleepy daze. He almost stumbled, but his big paws kept him from crashing as he ran to Ash. Cubchoo reared up onto his back legs and pawed at Ash's knee when the boy sat up to meet the ice type.

Ash's fingers ran through the fur atop Cubchoo's head and scratched behind his small ears, earning a cheerful squeak from the cub. The bear cub looked happy to see him, and Ash couldn't help but crack a smile. "How are you?"

Cubchoo squeaked again and suddenly ran over to Delia. He crawled into her lap and melted into a puddle of white fluff as the woman began to rub the little ice type's round belly. Delia giggled as the cub's tongue lolled out in bliss. "Cubchoo's been staying here with me. He's been a very good boy."

Ash snorted at the sight of the cub literally passing out from his mother's touch. He was barely discernible as a Pokemon from this angle. Cubchoo looked like a lumpy white blanket in her lap.

"So, what other Pokemon do you have?" Delia queried as she continued to rub Cubchoo into a coma.

The boy got up and grabbed his belt from where it hung over a chair in the dining room. He extracted the six pokeballs from it, brought them back to the room, and immediately had his mother's undivided attention. Ash smirked when Cubchoo continued to cuddle in Delia's lap regardless of his action.

"Cubchoo, I'm about to release your teammates," Ash called. The bear cub looked up, small ears perked with interest no matter how comfortable he was. "These Pokemon will be your friends and family whenever we're traveling together, okay?"

Cubchoo made a barking squeak to acknowledge Ash and jumped down from Delia's lap to sit down next to the boy's feet. Delia herself got up and waited as her son primed the first pokeball on his belt- Pyro's.

The Charizard materialized in the middle of the living room and blinked in confusion when he saw his surroundings. Pyro had never actually been inside of a house, now that he thought about it. Ash smiled to reassure his confused starter. "It's alright, buddy. We're back home in Pallet Town. This is where my mom and I live."

His eyes cleared in understanding and Pyro's attention was gathered by the woman to his right. Delia stepped forward fearlessly and smiled brightly at the Charizard. "Wow, look at how big you've gotten, Pyro!"

Her compliment made the Charizard puff out his huge chest proudly. Pyro relaxed further when Delia reached up to stroke the fire type's jaw, much to his delight. He obviously remembered who Delia was if he let her get so close without complaint. Even though he now stood just a little taller than the woman, the dragon held no dislike for the familiar, comforting touches.

Cubchoo didn't look so eager to get close to the fiery creature. Ash smiled at the cub reassuringly when it became clear he was getting nervous. He probably hadn't expected a Pokemon like Pyro to be the first one he met.

While Pyro was otherwise preoccupied by Delia, Ash made to release the rest of his team. The five Pokemon mostly looked confused with varying degrees of curiosity, all of which was turned towards Ash for an explanation. He quickly filled them in. "Everyone, this is my mom. We're at my home in Pallet Town."

Only Sobek seemed to lack interest in that news. Ash had a feeling his attitude would change once the croc got a taste of his mother's cooking.

"Oh, they're all so cute!" Delia gushed. She moved from one to the other at her own pace while the Pokemon took stock of their trainer's home. Unsurprisingly, Jasmine and Douse were amongst the most friendly and Spectre looked more comfortable once he got Ash's hat to cover up his broken mask. Eevee seemed a little wary as her usual position by Ash's feet was being occupied by Cubchoo.

Ash was quick to fix that minor issue. "Guys, this is Cubchoo. He's part of the team now, okay? Make sure you say hello."

Cubchoo looked a little intimidated by Pyro and Sobek, (the latter of which by now was curled up on the carpet to take a nap) but he made a squeak to greet his new teammates. Eevee's ears twitched at the cub and she took a few moments to sniff him before chittering softly in response.

She was by far the most subtle. Jasmine and Douse came over to Cubchoo immediately after meeting Delia and offered him friendly gestures- a light trill and a wave of Douse's large hand. Spectre settled on Douse's head and gave his own greeting from there.

Sobek opened one eye to inspect the new member for just a few moments. Once he was done, he let his jaws part to bare his teeth in a half-hearted display. Ash just rolled his eyes at that. Sobek would be more sociable when he had the opportunity to beat something into oblivion.

He was cheery like that.

Pyro came last to investigate the small ice type sitting by Ash's feet. Cubchoo fidgeted nervously under the Charizard's sharp eyes, which scanned Cubchoo over carefully for several seconds. But he completed his assessment quickly and made a rumbling hello. The cub hesitantly returned the greeting, much to Pyro's amusement. The dragon snorted slightly and turned to Ash, who nodded with approval.

"Thanks, buddy," Ash murmured as he glanced at the others. "Guys, it's late and we won't be doing much else tonight. Let me know if you're hungry, then make yourselves comfortable. We can go explore Pallet Town tomorrow and do some training if you like."

They perked up at that- mostly for food- and Ash gave his mom a hopeful glance, to which she laughed. "There's plenty to go around, just give me a few minutes to whip something up."

He was grateful for her willingness to help. Nothing beat his mother's cooking.

* * *

Ash woke and immediately squinted against the bright sun rays slipping past the curtains over his bedroom window. He grabbed one of his pillows and yanked it between his eyes and the offending light, determined to get a little more rest. His sudden movement provoked an irritated growl from Eevee, who was curled up next to his stomach, but she settled back down in a moment.

He was about to shut his eyes again when he felt something squeezing his leg and heard a little whine, which was muffled by the blankets covering the source of the noise. Ash lifted the covers just enough to get a good look at what was clinging to him and snorted when he realized it was Cubchoo. The cub was using Ash's leg as a body pillow by wrapping his large paws around the boy's calf muscles.

It felt good in a strange way- Cubchoo's fluffy body was cool thanks to his ice typing, so it kept Ash from feeling too hot under the covers. Though he had no idea how Cubchoo was actually sleeping in that little cave of blankets.

Was there even enough oxygen to breathe comfortably down there?

A muffled snort and a happy whine indirectly answered his unspoken question. Apparently that was a yes.

"Ash! Honey, are you awake?"

His eyes were half-closed when he heard his mother calling for him from the other side of his door. Inwardly sighing, Ash called back. "Yeah, mom."

"Mind if I come in?"

"Sure," he replied, wincing as he sat up despite Eevee's protesting chitter. She crawled into his lap and plopped down there, silently denying Ash permission to stand up.

Cubchoo just outright refused to let go of his leg. Sometimes Ash had to wonder who the trainer really was.

Delia opened the door quietly and peered in, smiling when she saw her son effectively being held prisoner by his Pokemon. "Late start?"

Ash frowned. "Isn't it just morning?"

She laughed a little. "Ash, it's past noon. I'm here for my lunch break."

His eyes widened. "I slept _that_ long?"

"You had a long trip yesterday by the sound of things," she told him. "Professor Oak said Gary was still out cold when he checked on him earlier. I haven't seen Leaf around either, so I can only assume she's sleeping in as well."

Ash raised an eyebrow. It wasn't like he'd gotten to bed early last night, but still. He usually woke up pretty early. He must have been far more exhausted than he'd thought.

A thought suddenly struck him and he glanced around. "Where are all my Pokemon? Only Eevee and Cubchoo are in here…"

"Let me think…Dratini is on the back porch soaking up sunshine," Delia mused. "Duskull is…actually, I have no idea. He disappeared like, well, a ghost."

"He does that," Ash clenched his jaw to fight a yawn and lost the battle after a few seconds. As his mouth was forced open wide by the victorious yawn, Delia crossed her arms and leaned against the frame of his doorway.

"Aside from them, Poliwrath got up about the same time as me. I took him to the pond by Professor Oak's lab and he's out swimming now. He's been at it all morning. But Charizard and Krookodile are, well…"

Ash immediately groaned. "What did they do?"

Delia sighed. "I figured they'd want to get out of the house, so I woke them up before I left. As soon as I did, both of them were growling at each other. I told them to take it outside and…"

"They started going at it," Ash finished with an annoyed tone. Well, wasn't that just a great way to wake up in the morning? His strongest two Pokemon were at each others throats before he even woke up. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tell me they didn't blow something up."

"Fortunately, Charizard missed my garden, but there's a streak of charred grass in our front yard," she admitted. "They listened when I yelled at them to stop. I could tell there'd be no avoiding a fight though, so I took them with me to the lab. The Professor pointed them to his usual battlefield out back and they've been there ever since."

"You probably should have gotten me up," he told her. "I can straighten them out."

"You needed to sleep," his mother replied sternly. Her face became slightly amused. "I can handle that pair when I need to. Even you listen when I raise my voice."

Ash couldn't help but crack a grin. That was true. His mother could probably scare anything if she got mad enough. Still, there were no excuses for Pyro and Sobek to have gotten into a fight without even waking him up. There was only so much trouble they were allowed to cause without his supervision.

"I'm getting up now," he announced. Eevee looked up at him with a mild glare, but even she could agree after listening to Delia that they had things to do. She leapt down from the bed and stretched, extending her paws out in front of her while her mouth parted in a yawn.

Eevee at least had resigned to getting up. Cubchoo wasn't letting go of his body pillow. Ash hauled his leg out from under the covers with the cub still clinging on stubbornly. He watched with a dry expression as the lump that was Cubchoo brought the covers with him, resulting in a large pile of blankets on the floor. Some of them flopped onto Eevee and enveloped most of her small body. Ash snorted when she lifted her head, blankets draped over her ears and back, to offer the lump attached to Ash's leg an irritated glare.

"C'mon, Cubchoo," Ash leaned down to pat the stubborn ice type. "We're going."

A reluctant whine was his answer. Delia covered her mouth to hide her smile some while Eevee huffed in annoyance. Ash smirked and tried again. "I'll give you a Yache Berry if you get up."

Their eyes were treated to a few moments of wriggling blankets as Cubchoo wormed his way out of the mess, which made Ash and Delia laugh a bit. The cub slowly poked his head out of the covers and gave Ash a suspicious look, like he wasn't sure that promise would be fulfilled.

Ash tapped the cub on his forehead. "I'm telling the truth."

Cubchoo considered it for a few moments. He really didn't want to actually leave his comfortable cocoon of blankets, but he also didn't want to be alone. But since Ash was determined to get up, one of them was going to have to give. Cubchoo wanted the boy's leg back. It was nice to cling onto while he slept.

But Yache berries…

With a little growl that promised retribution if the promise was not upheld, Cubchoo reluctantly released Ash's leg. The boy smiled at his newest companion and ruffled the fur between the ice type's ears. "Good boy. Let's go grab that snack. I think we all need to eat."

"Luckily for you, I already started cooking," Delia giggled. "Come on, I'll finish lunch up. You can go grab Dratini if you want. I'm not sure if she ate any of the Pokemon food I left out for her."

* * *

Lunch went by quickly. Ash and his mother had some simple pasta and sandwiches while Eevee ate a bowl of Pokemon food that Delia had made the night before. Cubchoo and Jasmine had the same, but Ash fulfilled his promise and gave Cubchoo some Yache berries as a reward for listening to him earlier. Jasmine got some as well, though she had given Ash a look.

A look that told Ash he better have a thriving Yache berry population if her teammates were going to be sharing the spoils.

Fortunately for him…

"Yes, I could add some of those to the garden," Delia mused as she led the way to Professor Oak's lab. "I've been trying to figure out what to do with that last empty patch in the back. Do you have some that I can plant?"

Ash fidgeted. "Well yeah…I'm just not sure if I have enough to keep Jasmine and Cubchoo happy long enough for new ones to grow."

Delia glanced at the pair of small Pokemon who faithfully followed them and smiled. "Hmm, I'm sure I could convince Samuel to give you some until I get a few bushes grown. Yache berries are pretty quick to grow, if I remember right. They also grow in large quantities. I hope your Pokemon have the appetites to match!"

He relaxed a little and cracked a grin. "Well, they are _my_ Pokemon."

"True," she giggled.

Eevee's ears twitched in amusement at that as she padded along by Ash's feet. Cubchoo and Jasmine were trailing just behind them, holding an enthusiastic conversation about something.

Ash got the feeling they were talking about how good Yache berries were.

"Ah!" Delia suddenly exclaimed. "Guess what?"

He frowned. "What?"

"My sister is coming by in a few weeks!" She announced.

"Aunt Sarah?" Ash blinked in surprise. "For what?"

His mother rolled her eyes loudly. "You haven't been keeping up with the date much, have you? It's almost August, silly! You know, for our annual get-together with Sarah and Luna!"

He blinked again to process that. Wow, he really _had_ forgotten about that completely.

Sarah and Luna lived way across the ocean in the Alola Region. They had lived here in Pallet for a time, but Sarah's husband, Ian, got a job with Professor Oak's cousin, Samson Oak. Samson ran a Pokemon Trainer Academy in the Alola Region and had offered Ian a job when the family decided they wanted to move out of Kanto.

Sarah and her family weren't homebodies like Delia- they loved to explore and travel the world. Of course, it wasn't like Delia didn't like to get out and about, but since Ash's father wasn't in the picture, getting the money for such things wasn't as easy. Both Sarah and her husband worked hard to provide for their families.

He felt the familiar spark of anger towards his still-unknown father. Ash didn't know much about him despite pleading with his mother for information. She always got very reserved whenever that subject came up and Ash felt bad every time he asked because of how sad she looked, so he would stop asking quickly. All he was ever able to get out of her was that his father was a Pokemon Trainer and that things just hadn't worked out between them.

In his opinion, that was no excuse to completely disregard your own son. Ash had worked out the perfect greeting long ago in the event that he ever met the man.

The jerk wouldn't even know what hit him.

He shook that thought away and focused his train of thought back on Aunt Sarah and Luna. Their family was actually really nice. Though Ian wasn't able to visit the Kanto Region whenever it was his family's turn because he was always so busy, Ash enjoyed talking to the man when he and his mother would travel to Alola to visit the following year. They had developed a little system of back and forth so that they never lost touch with each other. Sometimes Gary would come along with Ash and Delia to Alola to visit "Uncle Samson" as he so referred to the man.

Luna was Ash's cousin- Sarah and Ian's daughter. The girl was about a year younger than him, but she was just as adventurous and Ash smirked as he thought of all the trouble he and Luna got into whenever they joined forces.

The last time he'd been in Alola, Ash was pretty sure he and Luna had disturbed something that probably shouldn't have been disturbed. Apparently, Luna's Meowth wasn't much of a battler- the strange Pokemon they'd encountered had not been pleased by the cat's attempt at Fury Swipes. They'd run out of the jungle screaming while lightning bolts filled the sky behind them. The local population of villagers had been understandably startled.

Needless to say, Delia and Sarah did not let Ash and Luna go anywhere else without them after that. Sarah's tanned face had gotten incredibly pale.

The two kids hadn't been able to stop laughing after the panic was over and Meowth didn't let Ash get near him for the rest of the trip.

Ash considered the upcoming visit while he chewed his lip thoughtfully. Luna was getting pretty close to the age where she could become a Pokemon Trainer if he remembered correctly. Maybe he could help teach her a thing or two- ah, but she attended Samson Oak's Pokemon Academy. The man was as smart as Samuel, if a bit…eccentric in his teaching methods. He had a disturbing habit of trying to imitate the Pokemon he was teaching students about.

His imitations were not the greatest.

Regardless, Ash doubted Luna would be unprepared for trainer life (though admittedly learning in class and actually making use of studies on the road were two very different things) and opted to just introduce her to his team whenever she came by. He'd like that. He was pretty sure Luna would enjoy that as well.

He hadn't actually planned on staying in Pallet for that long since the St. Anne event. Ash wanted to hit the road and get stronger as quickly as possible. But he'd be lying if the chance to see Luna and Aunt Sarah didn't persuade him to stay a bit longer for them. There was only about a week or so left in July and Aunt Sarah tended to show up about halfway through August…

Well, it wasn't the first change of plans he'd had to adjust to. He'd just have to train in Pallet Town for the time being.

"I can't wait," Ash finally said to Delia. He could already feel the grin stretching across his face. "Maybe Meowth will come with them."

"Oh, you!" Delia cuffed him upside the head, though it was light. She wasn't actually that cross with him. "That poor cat had all nine lives almost scared out of him thanks to the little stunt you and Luna pulled!"

Ash continued to grin despite the chastising. Since they'd all made it out okay, it was funny.

Delia only shook her head.

In no time, they arrived at the lab and Ash heard the telltale sounds of Pokemon battling. An explosion was followed almost immediately by an indignant roar belonging almost certainly to Pyro, then another blast was heard before Sobek's furious bellow ripped through the air.

The local Pokemon hanging around Professor Oak's lab looked understandably nervous, though Ash caught sight of the Professor's Arcanine calming the large pack of Growlithe. Arcanine was one of Oak's original team and held no fear for anything. Ash's Pokemon, however loud and destructive, were no problem for the enormous canine to deal with.

Delia sighed as another blast made itself known. "You might go out back and find a way to calm them down. I can't imagine anyone is getting a lot of work done right now."

Ash just nodded as a frown made its way onto his face. "I'll sort them out."

Delia made her way towards the lab entrance while Ash stalked around the side towards the back, where he knew the battlefield resided. Eevee and Jasmine followed him without fear, though Cubchoo looked jumpy with all the angry sounds coming from the back of the lab. Obviously, the little cub was unfamiliar with his new teammate's violent tendencies.

Ash stepped around the corner to the back and instantly leapt back as a fireball flew over his head. He glared after the offending flame, which thankfully ended up fizzling out before it hit anything.

Arms crossed, Ash stepped around the corner again and narrowed his eyes at the pair of fighting reptiles, who were covered in dirt and sported mild wounds all over their tough bodies. He raised his voice to bark over their angry growls. _"Stop it!"_

Pyro and Sobek froze and spun towards their trainer, almost cringing at the indignant glare Ash cast their way.

They were in trouble.

Ash eyed the battlefield and surrounding area for several seconds. Almost everything was burnt and there was a considerable amount of rubble littering the ground. He saw Douse putting out a small fire that had found its way into a tree and nodded at the Poliwrath when Douse's attention was caught by the boy's raised voice. Douse beat his fist against his round belly and returned to putting out the flames while Ash turned his wrath towards the large reptiles, who caught their breath while waiting for the inevitable.

"I _know_ for a fact that I've told you both not to fight without my permission," Ash snapped, glaring from Pyro to Sobek and back again. "You can't just go and battle wherever you want. _Especially_ not in mom's garden."

Pyro didn't look ashamed, but his tail did twitch slightly with unease. He'd probably been hoping Delia wouldn't tell Ash about that little incident. Sobek sneered at the guilty Charizard, but his trainer's furious eyes made the triumphant look vanish instantly.

"Absolutely no battling here without my permission. Understand?"

Maybe it was the adrenaline still going through him, but Pyro had the gall to spit a small fireball at the ground and huff.

Ash felt his left eyelid twitch.

"Since you obviously have so much energy left, I'm sure I can find something to tire you both out," Ash growled in a manner disturbingly similar to the aggressive reptiles. Both of them lit up at his seeming agreement to let them fight. "It's lots of _fun_."

Maybe it was the edge he put on the word "fun" or the blissfully unaware looks her troublesome teammates were giving Ash, but Eevee allowed a snicker to escape her mouth.

The potential for entertainment was too good to pass up.

* * *

Samuel Oak owned a considerably large plot of land for his Pokemon research. He also owned a significant amount of equipment that he and his employees frequently put to work in and around the lab itself. Among that long list of machinery and equipment were a pair of huge tractors. Spare tires for the tractors were kept in a shed on the left side of the lab.

And Samuel Oak had also shown Ash, Leaf, and Gary what to do if one of their Pokemon were being particularly disobedient. He'd once demonstrated with an arrogant Golduck the effectiveness of this punishment.

"Well?" Ash called down to the pair of reptiles near the base of the hill. "Isn't this _fun?"_

Pyro and Sobek's eyes bulged as they struggled to drag the enormous and absurdly heavy tractor tires behind them uphill. They were not allowed to damage the tires in any way or use any moves until the tires found their way to the top of the hill. Thick ropes had been tied around their bodies with a single large tire attached to the opposite end.

Ash was sitting cross-legged in the grass as he looked down on his pair of troublemakers. The hill wasn't actually that big, but it was huge when you were trying to haul gigantic tires to the top. Hopefully this would remind Pyro and Sobek that their aggression had a time and place to be dealt with. If not, Ash knew a few larger and steeper hills they could try out. If _that_ didn't cut it, there were plenty of extra tires lying around.

He was being lenient as it was. With their talent for destruction, he was amazed the pair hadn't somehow hit the lab itself with one of their attacks. Had that happened, they'd have gotten two tires attached to each of them and a walloping .

Eevee was sitting in his lap, watching the Charizard and Krookodile struggle with their load while her eyes gleamed with barely concealed delight. It was just lovely to watch them face the consequences of causing trouble. She probably got too much satisfaction out of it, but Eevee didn't care.

This was easily the most popular idea Ash had ever had in her opinion. It was even better when he told the pair before this started that the one who finished last had to do it again.

She loved her trainer.

Pyro snarled as he fell to all fours and tried to literally crawl up the hill with the massive weight behind him. He heaved with all his might and climbed just a few more inches for all his effort. His wings beat down furiously, but did little more than waste his energy.

Sobek had his jaws open wide as he greedily sucked in air to fuel his burning muscles. He couldn't remember any of their training being this difficult before. It was just dead weight dragging behind him, but the way it strained his whole body made the task exhausting.

The sound of a third tire being dragged up the hill at an impressive speed gave both reptiles pause. They both took a moment to leer jealously at Douse, who had his own tire.

But the Poliwrath actually _was_ doing it for fun.

Douse loved this kind of training. His short, compact body was perfect for it. With his low center of gravity and muscular build, he had been able to haul the tire up and down the hill twice already before either Pyro or Sobek could make it to the top just once. In fact, he was humming cheerily while he performed the exercise.

Pyro and Sobek silently declared war on the ridiculously happy water type. That just wasn't fair.

Cubchoo and Jasmine were playing near the base of the hill, careful to stay out of the way while their larger teammates performed their labor. Ash didn't feel the need to constantly glance at them- he trusted the pair to be safe while they had fun. Actual training would come later, once he'd temporarily exhausted the arrogance and aggression out of his two most powerful Pokemon.

Ash glanced up at the sun. They still had several hours of daylight left. He'd prefer to teach his Pokemon their TMs and get them ready for training. He also needed to assess Cubchoo and figure out where to start working with the little ice type.

But before any of that, he needed to meet with the Professor and get an opinion on his team. The man wasn't called a world-class expert on Pokemon for nothing. Anything he told Ash about his team would be held up as a key focus of their future training.

The boy's eyes trailed back down to Pyro and Sobek, who had made it about halfway up the hill. He'd give them credit for that- despite fighting all day, they somehow still had enough strength to make it this far without completely collapsing. Their arrogance wasn't totally undeserved even if it needed to be curbed once in a while to remind them who the trainer was.

Depending on how well they listened to him after this, tire hauling could become a regular exercise for them.

Ash absently stroked Eevee's fur, lost in his thoughts while the normal type remained comfortably in his lap and smugly watched her teammates struggle up the hill.

Yes, she could get used to this view.

* * *

"Good job, you guys," Ash complimented the near-unconscious pair of reptiles as their chests heaved for breath. Both were lying on their backs, sprawled over the grass with the ropes still wrapped around their bodies while they tried to inhale the oxygen their agonized muscles sorely needed. Douse meanwhile, simply stretched and worked out any kinks his muscles had built up from the difficult workout.

Eevee, Jasmine, and Cubchoo were gathered by Ash's feet while they watched their larger teammates recover. The former pair seemed amused, but Cubchoo padded over to Douse and offered the Poliwrath a bark of encouragement. Douse grunted back in a friendly way.

Ash found himself warmed by the growing friendship between the pair.

Pyro somehow found the strength to haul himself into a sitting position so that he could look at Ash. The boy still had his arms crossed, but he waited for Sobek to rise up as well before he spoke to the pair. "Are we done?"

Because he _would_ sit on the hilltop all day if he had to and watch them haul tires up and down endlessly. The two nodded silently, still too busy sucking in breath to actually offer up some kind of retort. Pyro had never thought that Ash would have a way to really make them regret causing trouble outside of guilt-tripping, but he mentally reminded himself to never underestimate his trainer's ire again.

This was not fun.

Sobek was of a similar mind, but he wasn't capable of thinking much at the moment. He was too tired for that.

Ash nodded, satisfied. "Good. Come on, let's go back to the lab. I need to treat you two since you've spent the morning beating each other up and we need to see Professor Oak as well."

So it was that the trainer and his Pokemon, followed by the bedraggled pair of reptiles, made their way back to the Professor's lab.

* * *

Professor Oak was, of course, inside the lab working on something with Delia and the other lab personnel. When Ash walked in with his team behind him, several of the technicians initially gave Pyro and Sobek wary looks until it became abundantly clear that the pair were well and truly tuckered out.

Oak dismissed his employees just a few moments before Ash came over. Delia gave Ash a smile and a wave as she walked off, which he returned.

"It's good to see you, Ash," the Professor smiled at him. "Your mother told me you got quite a late start today."

"I guess I was pretty tired," he admitted.

"So, how can I help you?" Oak asked. "Did you come for an assessment of your team?"

"Yes, sir."

"Hm. Very well, let's head out back, shall we? I need to discuss a few things with you, as well."

Oak took them out back to the battlefield where Pyro and Sobek had been rampaging earlier. To Ash's surprise, the field looked completely normal, as though his two strongest Pokemon hadn't been ruining it for hours.

The Professor noted Ash's surprise and chuckled. "My Alakazam smoothed things over once your Charizard and Krookodile were finished. He does a good job keeping the building safe from stray attacks, as well."

Ash's eyes cleared in understanding. He'd thought it was odd how not a single attack had found its way to the lab itself. Even if Alakazam was out of sight somewhere, he had to give the psychic credit- it did a great job.

"So, is this everyone?" Oak asked as he glanced at the six Pokemon behind Ash. "Where's that Duskull of yours?"

"He's been a bit shy since St. Anne," Ash sighed. "Part of his mask was broken during the attack."

The Professor raised an eyebrow. "Well, let's give him his space, then. A Duskull's mask is a symbol of their power. If it was broken, he's probably feeling insecure at the moment. It will regenerate before too long."

A moment later, a smile reclaimed his features. "In the meantime, I can assess the Pokemon you currently have on hand, if you'd like."

"That'd be great."

"Excellent. Are your Pokemon ready for battle, then?"

Ash blinked. "Huh?"

Oak chuckled at the boy's startled expression. "I can't tell you what training would be best for your team if I don't see them in action and get an idea of how they prefer to battle. I can recommend moves and unique techniques to you all day, but there's no guarantee any of them will be any good for your Pokemon. You and your team will have to develop your own style. I can only point you in the general direction of the path that is most likely to work for you."

"For example, let's assume I advise you to train your Charizard in a way that mirrors my own. Your Charizard, having only evolved recently, is rather small for one of his kind and doesn't have the thicker scales of a mature adult. Even though he's fully evolved, it'll still be quite some time before he reaches his maximum potential. On the flip side of that coin, my own Charizard, Ignotus, is a veteran at the peak of his growth. He can tank attacks that would drop your Charizard in a heartbeat, but that's how he prefers to fight. His specialty is taking or diverting an enemy's attack while waiting for an opportunity to deliver a finishing blow. That likely will not work for your Charizard considering how young he is."

His way of thinking made a lot of sense to Ash. Even though the Professor was an expert on all things Pokemon and had worked with species that Ash now had on-hand, his team could be used to battling in ways that wouldn't match well with Ash's.

No, Pyro would not do well with a take it-and-return fighting style. That wasn't how he liked to do things, anyways. He liked to _move_. He preferred to be constantly moving, flying or running around the field in pursuit of his enemy. Pyro was not a patient creature on the battlefield- he was an aggressive predator.

The Professor's short laugh snapped Ash out of his train of thought. "I can see the gears turning in your head. Do you have an idea of where you want to start?"

"Yes," Ash replied, doing his best to ignore the brief flush he felt in embarrassment for being caught in his own little world. "Can we start with Pyro?"

"Your Charizard, yes?" Oak prompted. When the boy nodded, he returned the gesture. "Yes, of course. One day I promise I'll be able to remember the names for all of your Pokemon. I simply haven't had the chance, especially as of late. It's been a rather trying week as I'm sure you know."

Ash winced. He knew all too well.

The Professor shook his head and took out a pokeball from within his lab coat. "Never mind that. Come now. I could do with some limbering up- it's been far too long since I've had a good battle."

Ash glanced at Pyro, who had finally caught his breath and didn't look like he was in perpetual pain anymore. "Are you ready, buddy?"

Pyro roared at the top of his lungs, causing Ash to smile. What a silly question on his part. Of course Pyro was ready. He was always ready for a fight.

Ash made his way to one side of the battlefield and Pyro took up a position in front of his trainer. Oak of course stood on the opposite side and Ash's Pokemon lined one side of the field closest to the lab. A few of the technicians that worked with Oak were poking their heads out the door to watch. It had probably been a long time since they'd seen Samuel Oak in action, if they'd ever seen him battle at all.

Oak enlarged the pokeball in his hand and his eyes glinted with something akin to reminiscence. "Well then, are you ready, Ash?"

"Bring it on!" Ash shouted, unable to stop the grin spreading across his face.

The Professor brought his arm back to hurl the device over the field-

-an earth-shattering roar split the air, causing Ash to yelp and throw his hands over his ears. Oak froze mid swing and jerked his face upwards, eyes wide with surprise. Pyro froze as well, but he whipped his gaze to the sky not a second later with a snarl on his face and roared back. His tail thrashed from side to side aggressively and the flame at the end flared.

There was a moment of silence, then a massive, orange blur slammed into the middle of the field and stirred up a huge cloud of dust. Ash stared as the sediment settled and his eyes widened into saucers.

The Charizard that emerged from the cloud was gargantuan. Oh, Ash had seen Professor Oak's Charizard flying to and from the lab before, but he'd never met it in person and certainly had never seen it this close up.

Pyro was about average size for a newly-evolved Charizard of his age. He stood about five foot-six and weighed something like a hundred and ninety pounds. The span of his wings when they were fully stretched out was nearly twenty feet, a size necessary to allow his bulk to get into the air. The two horns on the back of his head were each about six inches and the fangs in his mouth were two inches each.

Only now did Ash realize that Pyro really was a baby compared to a fully matured Charizard. Ignotus was a _giant_.

The beast of a Charizard stood eleven feet tall with contemptuous ease. Ash had no idea how heavy he was, but something that size had to weigh several hundred pounds at least. Unfurled, Ignotus' wings were double the size of Pyro's and his horns were probably triple the length of the smaller Charizard's. Ash didn't even want to know how big Ignotus' fangs really were, but he could see them clearly behind the monster's snarl and guessed they were almost as long as Pyro's horns.

Ignotus let out a growl that passed right through Ash's body, primal and deep enough to send a shiver along his spine. It was the sound of a predator that knew the power he wielded to the fullest extent and understood how far above the lesser creatures he was. He did not know fear- mostly everything feared him, not the other way around.

Pyro was apparently not one of the majority.

It was almost comical to see Pyro roar at Ignotus even though he didn't even reach the massive adult's shoulder. Ash couldn't help but gape at the size difference, because just one of Ignotus's wings was almost as large as Pyro's entire body.

Oak broke Ash out of his momentary daze by snapping at the behemoth of a Charizard. "Ignotus, I know for a fact that I've told you to alert me whenever you are flying here from the valley!"

Ignotus barely glanced over his shoulder to snap his jaws loudly at the Professor, who only scowled in response. Ignotus didn't let Pyro escape from his eyes for even a second- he was trained on the smaller Charizard like a Pidgeot eyeing up a Caterpie.

Pyro snarled and his tail thrashed violently from side to side. Ignotus looked like the smaller Charizard had said something vile, because his lip curled higher and vibrated in a way that signified just how angry he really was.

Oak sighed in exasperation across the field. "Ash, back off. There's no stopping them now. Pyro challenged Ignotus and he can't ignore that."

"But…" Ash's protest was cut off as Ignotus gave him a look. A look that told Ash to get his butt off the field because Ignotus would not find it in himself to care that the boy was in the way, not while his authority was being so blatantly insulted by this brat of a Charizard before him.

Wisely, Ash heeded the monster's warning. He quickly walked off the field to join his Pokemon and the Professor, who had his arms crossed tensely.

"I'm sorry," Oak told him. "I didn't expect Ignotus to fly back from the valley. He doesn't break his routine very often."

Ash watched as the two Charizard sized each other up, though it was mostly just a growling contest as Pyro stalked back and forth on his side of the field while Ignotus remained in place and kept his gaze fixed on the smaller fire type. "Why did Ignotus get so angry?"

"This is his territory," the Professor explained. "He tolerates most other Pokemon, but like any member of their species, he's not fond of other Charizard. Pyro's mere presence is enough to get him riled up. That he so arrogantly challenged Ignotus is something that has to be addressed immediately."

Oak paused before suddenly remarking. "I don't quite recall if I've told you this before, but Ignotus is Pyro's biological father."

Ash froze. "What! Wait, then why are they fighting?! If they're family, then-"

"-it's precisely _because_ they're family that Ignotus is even _less_ tolerant of Pyro being here," Oak interrupted. "Pyro is fully evolved. He has long since left the nest and the parental instincts Ignotus possesses have faded away. His concerns are only to guard his territory and protect the next clutch of hatchlings. Ignotus will not tolerate Pyro being in his territory unless he shows the proper respect and submissive behavior that is demanded around a figure of authority."

The Professor pursed his lips for a moment. "Keep Pyro's pokeball at the ready. If he doesn't submit to Ignotus' satisfaction, this is going to get rather violent."

The blood drained from Ash's face as he watched, helplessly, while his starter faced off against his monster of a father.

Pyro still had a growl rumbling in the back of his throat and Ignotus snarled, flexing his claws as the air around him heated up to the point that both Ash and the Professor began to sweat. Threatening hisses and growls were exchanged for a few seconds. The temperature and tempers rose to fever-pitch until they finally reached a boiling point.

Pyro lunged first. He pushed his wings down hard to give him added acceleration as he charged Ignotus, wreathing fire enveloping his entire body. His claws flashed amidst the dancing flames, ready to rend flesh and scale from the monster in front of him. He was undeterred by the size of his father; rather, he was emboldened by it. For certainly there was no way a creature of such bulk could be faster than-

Ash's eyes couldn't even follow what happened next.

The temperature suddenly spiked and Ignotus simply disappeared amidst a heat haze and a blur of motion, then the beast roared with enough force to shake the earth. Pyro didn't make it halfway across the field before _something_ slammed into him and launched him in the opposite direction like a missile. As the stunned Charizard was barreled into the ground hard enough to instantly knock him out, Ignotus became visible again.

Massive tongues of blue fire erupted out from the ground at his feet as the monster reared back with an ear-splitting roar. The massive claws of his right hand clenched into a fist, then he lunged down towards the earth. Oak blanched at the sight and barely got a warning out of his mouth when the hammer came down.

The instant Ignotus' fist drilled into the ground, the earth began to shudder and fire suddenly burst from beneath the field. Tongues of blue and even white flames surrounded Pyro's form on the ground, which hadn't even come to a stop from the initial attack, and then climaxed in a violent explosion like a volcanic eruption. The blast enveloped everything within a thirty foot radius and generated a shock wave strong enough to almost lift Ash off his feet even though he stood a fair distance away.

Black smoke roiled up from the point of the explosion. The beast of a Charizard stood back up to his full height and glared at the spot where Pyro had been subjected to his father's rage. His nostrils flared and plumes of blue fire were blown out in a casual snort, as though he hadn't just pulverized the smaller Charizard with an attack that was stronger than anything Ash had ever seen.

The debris finally cleared and revealed to Ash's horror Pyro's smoking body, limp on the blackened dirt amidst fleeting blue flames, remnants of the devastating attack. Pyro was obviously unconscious, but his trainer's terror came from the fact that he couldn't tell if the Charizard was even breathing or not.

"He'll be fine," Oak reassured him, making Ash jump by placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Pyro was lucky. Ignotus decided to be lenient with his punishment."

The boy stared at Oak like he was crazy.

In what way had that been _lenient?!_

The field wasn't even recognizable anymore- it was a mess, having been utterly wrecked by the explosive attack. Various sized chunks of rubble and debris littered the ground, almost all of it blackened from flames. Ash realized quickly why Oak had insisted they leave the field, because the spot he'd been standing on before Ignotus arrived had been blown into smithereens.

Oak sighed when Ignotus spit a fireball at the ground, as if the beast were saying, "Good riddance!"

"Was the Blast Burn _truly_ necessary?" Oak asked his partner a little irritably. Ignotus glanced at the Professor and grumbled something. Oak raised an eyebrow. "You know that Alakazam can't just make the grass grow back. Look at the mess you've made!"

Ignotus rolled his eyes and let out a rambling sound. Ash would've bet his bottom dollar that it was the Charizard equivalent of, "Blah, blah, blah."

"Well, all things considered," Oak eyed the destroyed battlefield and charred terrain. "That could have been much worse."

Ash ran over to Pyro's slumped body while the rest of his Pokemon could only gape in stunned silence. They thought they knew what power was before, but _boy_ had Ignotus drawn a new line for them. This was the first time they'd ever seen Pyro so hopelessly outclassed since he'd reached his final evolutionary stage.

And apparently, the monster of a Charizard could do even better.

"Recall him," Oak ordered of Ash when the boy tried, unsuccessfully, to rouse his unconscious partner. "I'll have him healed in my lab."

Ash did as instructed, despite Ignotus' irritated growl. He cast a glare at the huge Charizard in response. Ignotus was utterly unimpressed and growled again. He was obviously still agitated and annoyed by Pyro's presence.

Oak took the pokeball containing the unconscious Charizard and passed it along to one of his stunned employees after snapping the man back to reality. Ash crossed his arms and scowled as Ignotus followed the pokeball with his eyes until he could no longer see the offending object.

"We'll have to work on that," Oak sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I apologize, but it won't be safe for Pyro to train around here until he submits to Ignotus."

Ash's scowl deepened. "I think I'll train my team somewhere else today. We can do the assessment another time."

Oak didn't bother arguing, but he did frown at the boy. Ash couldn't bring himself to care.

As if sensing the anger and annoyance in his voice, Ignotus' gaze locked onto Ash and the boy had to force himself not to freeze under the intense onyx eyes. Instead, he balled his fists and glared back with every ounce of ferocity a ten year old could possess. Which admittedly wasn't much, but he did his best.

The beast of a Charizard grinned nastily. He had found a fiery human to irritate. How fun.

Perhaps he'd stick around in Pallet Town a little longer than he'd first planned.

* * *

Following the disastrous event at the lab, Ash Ketchum's day went from bad to worse.

He'd planned on trekking to a small, rocky area a few miles north of the town to do his training. There were no people around and few wild Pokemon, so it was an obvious choice. However, upon arriving at the site, he discovered that it was occupied by a significant visitor.

One fantastically large Charizard known as "Ignotus" was lounging on the sun-warmed rocks.

Ash did a double take at the huge dragon apparently sleeping on a large boulder, but it was obvious after a few moments that Ignotus was far from asleep. As soon as Ash got close enough to see the features of his face, Ignotus opened one eye and smirked. The gleaming fangs only served to further irritate Ash, but he wasn't stupid enough to think that he could actually defeat the monster.

His team eyed the beast nervously until Ash snapped. "This way."

He led them about a hundred meters away from the dragon, whose eyes lazily followed their every move. Ash and his team shot Ignotus wary glances as they moved to an area with various sized boulders protruding from the ground. They'd make great targets for his team to demolish. Ash had to make them all stronger while he himself came up with ways to improve and develop their battling styles.

"Start warming up," Ash ordered his little group. He whipped his PokeNav out to go over the notes he'd made for his team's future development. "Pick a target and go at it until I call you all back."

Faithfully, the five Pokemon did as instructed. Sobek and Douse went for the largest boulders in sight while Eevee and Jasmine picked out one of the rocks together and started smacking it with Iron Tails. Unsure what to do, Cubchoo sat down with him on a patch of grass. Ash had yet to involve the cub in an actual training exercise and allowed it. He'd get into the swing of things in no time. For now, Ash frowned as he considered his notes. He probably needed to start by giving out the TMs he'd-

-he yelped as a familiar, powerful roar split the air. Ash whipped his eyes up in the general direction of the noise just in time to see Ignotus diving at his team from above. His Pokemon also recognized the sound and managed to jump into action moments before Ignotus reached them.

Sobek dove underground and Douse fired a Hydro Pump before Ash could say a word. Eevee started to dart in a circle to flank the beast when it flew low enough, eyes narrowed while she hissed angrily. At the rear, Jasmine shot a lance of electricity from her horn in an attempt to paralyze the beast.

Ash watched with some satisfaction as the Hydro Pump and Thunder Wave crashed into the Charizard, surely hurting it to some extent-

He blanched as Ignotus grinned maniacally. The Charizard stopped to simply hover in the air for a few moments, taking Douse's Hydro Pump like it was nothing while Jasmine's Thunder Wave simply _fizzled out_ a solid foot away from the dragon. _What?_

Douse stopped blasting huge volumes of water as he realized that the Charizard honestly couldn't care less. Jasmine tilted her head to the side in confusion, but kept up the Thunder Wave. She knew that it wasn't working, but she didn't seem to know what to do about it.

Eevee fired a Shadow Ball then and the ghostly sphere was primed to hit Ignotus square in the face. The Charizard casually bit it in half and ignored the explosion resulting from that.

Ignotus went on the offensive.

He lunged at Douse in a blur of speed that Ash couldn't even follow. One moment Ignotus was in the air, then the next he was driving an electrified fist into Douse's round body, launching him in the opposite direction as though he were a mere Poliwag. Ash's friend was knocked out instantly and he recalled the Poliwrath a moment later.

Jasmine gave up on the Thunder Wave after that and began to dart around using Agility in an effort to confuse and evade the beast. Eevee joined her by using Quick Attack to speed up, but it was a useless effort.

Ignotus' trained eyes tracked them both with disgusting ease as he landed on the ground with a solid thud. The Charizard's tail flicked as he followed the pair of racing Pokemon, but he rumbled in surprise as the earth beneath his feet turned into sand. Ash grinned.

Sobek created a huge Sand Tomb within a few seconds. Eevee and Jasmine darted along the edge, launching Shadow Ball and Dragon Rage attacks at the Charizard trapped in the center. Ignotus absorbed them all without so much as flinching and instead tried to lift his feet out of the sand. However, he became frustrated when the sand continued to suck him further into the trap.

Ash took a moment to be satisfied that even Ignotus, for all his massive strength, couldn't just walk out of Sobek's Ant Lion technique. Maybe if the Charizard stayed put long enough, they could actually hurt him-

-blue flames erupted from the sand as Ignotus snarled. Ash could only watch, helpless, as the telltale signs of a Charizard losing its patience became obvious to him.

"Get away!" He managed to shout before Ignotus reared back, fist clenched, and surged down into the Sand Tomb. Ash threw an arm up over his face to protect himself from the explosion generated by Ignotus' Blast Burn technique. The earth itself erupted with his wrath, purging everything in reach of the attack with terribly powerful fire.

The concussive sound faded after several seconds and Ash let his arm fall down. He groaned at the sight.

Sobek had been blasted out from underground by the flames and was now lying utterly unconscious at the Charizard's feet. Eevee and Jasmine, despite being at the edge of the Sand Tomb, were also out for the count. Apparently, Ignotus had deemed them not worth the trouble of hunting down one by one. He had deigned to knock them all out at once.

Okay, so Ant Lion wasn't Blast Burn proof. At least that was good to know.

Ash recalled his defeated friends (and a frightened Cubchoo) with a furious glare plastered on his face as the Charizard flew out of the pit and landed on stable ground, shaking the charred sand from his body. "What was that for?! We weren't bothering you!"

Ignotus merely sneered at the boy. Ash considered what to do before turning and stomping off towards the lab. He didn't make it five steps before a huge, clawed hand grabbed him by the back of his shirt and lifted him six feet into the air. Ash yelled indignantly and struggled to get free, but Ignotus ignored him and continued to walk to the lab.

Thoroughly furious, but incapable of escape, Ash let an ugly scowl fall onto his features and crossed his arms as the massive Charizard took him away.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Professor Oak was there when they reached the lab.

Surprisingly, he seemed to know they were coming.

"Your Pokemon?" Asked the Professor.

"They're unconscious, but Cubchoo is fine," Ash growled furiously. He unclipped each device from his belt and handed them to the older man. Oak passed them on to a technician, who took the pokeballs inside. Ash cast a venomous glare at the Professor as he jerked his thumb at the Charizard still holding him up. "Can't you keep him under control? I didn't even get to train!"

"He _is_ under control," Oak replied calmly. "I sent him after you."

Ash's jaw dropped as he processed that for a few seconds and his fury returned tenfold. "What?! You just set him on my team?! For what?! They didn't deserve that!"

"They did not, but _you_ did," the Professor said evenly. "You need a reality check. You and your team are not powerful enough to take on opponents like Ignotus. Even many of those beneath him are above your capabilities."

The boy's face went red with anger and he opened his mouth to retort, but Oak shot him a severe look that brokered no argument. "I would have thought you'd figure that out from all of your encounters with Team Rocket, but from what Gary told me of the St. Anne, it appears you need to learn a lesson, after all."

Ash's scowl didn't disappear. So that was what this was about. _Traitor_.

"And don't you start getting angry at Gary, either," Oak snapped. The Professor knew Ash way too well. "If anything, you should be grateful Gary cared enough to actually come forward and tell me about all this! I didn't know you were involved in any of these events! Even though Celadon was the most public, all I heard was that a trio of young trainers had discovered a Rocket hideout! Words don't even begin to describe how _astounded_ I was when I learned that you and Gary took it upon yourselves to attack the base alone!"

"Paul was with us too," Ash retorted.

"Three beginning trainers are hardly any better than two if you're going up against hardened criminals!" Oak thundered. "What on earth were you thinking?! You could have gotten yourselves killed! You and your Pokemon almost _were_ killed!"

An unwanted memory of Pikachu's fur soaked in red jumped unhelpfully to the front of his train of thought. Ash banished the image in an instant and scowled. "I couldn't just stand by and do nothing! Do you have any idea what they do to other people and Pokemon?"

"I'm fully aware in fact and I can guarantee you that the League possesses enough firepower to eradicate them," Oak scowled. "The St. Anne event was enough for Team Rocket to officially be declared as terrorists. The Gym Leaders and Elite Four now have free reign to attack them whenever possible. Since you've obviously missed the news, Lance was furious enough to single-handedly attack and demolish a small Rocket Base near Cerulean City yesterday."

"He's the Champion! Of course he can do that!"

"Then what on earth makes you think you're capable of the same thing?! You are not a Champion, you're a _child!_ Half of your team isn't even fully evolved!"

"They started it!" Ash snapped. He ignored Ignotus' warning growl behind him. The Charizard still hadn't set him down, but had lowered the boy enough to be eye-level with Oak. "They attacked us at Mt. Moon! I can't just sit back and do nothing after that! I have to stop them in any way I can!"

Oak glared at him and spoke in a devastatingly soft voice. "And how would your mother take it if you'd been killed on one of your suicidal ventures?"

Ash froze. He opened his mouth, closed it, and glanced away, mumbling. "That's not fair."

"It's perfectly fair because I'm _right_. You know exactly how she'd take it. She would be broken. How much more do you honestly think she can take after how things worked out with your father?"

Ash's scowl returned in a flash. "Don't bring him into this, he's _not_ my father! A _father_ is supposed to be around! I don't even know what his _name_ is or what he _looks_ like! I don't _care_ who he is!"

"But your mother did," Oak continued, unfazed by the boy's anger. "And she lost him. What would it do to her if she lost you?"

He didn't answer and glanced away again. Oak pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ash, you have the potential to be _great_. Your team could be stronger than most trainers of your age and experience may hope to be, but your arrogance will be your undoing. You are just _beginning_ to tap into your potential. That will not mean _anything_ if you get yourself killed before then. For goodness sake, you should be resting right now as is. Your body is still healing."

"Don't you get it?" Ash muttered. "That's why I _have_ to get stronger. I have to get so strong that they won't be able to hurt anyone ever again. I don't have time to waste sitting around doing nothing or watching your Charizard steamroll my team."

He shot a glare at Ignotus over his shoulder, but the beast looked more amused than anything.

"Getting stronger is fine," Oak told him. "Getting stronger so you can go after hardened criminals is _not_ fine. I will not help you if that is your answer. You need to assure me right here and now that you will not pursue Team Rocket again. I want your word on that, Ash."

Ash grit his teeth in frustration. Oak was way too good at blackmailing him and the Professor knew it. The worst part was he wasn't even sure if it deserved to be called blackmail because as much as he hated to admit it, Oak did have his best interests at heart. He had more or less been the father figure Ash had lacked growing up. The Professor had given out tough love before and he wouldn't hesitate to do so again if he felt it was necessary for Ash's own good.

"There will be an injury you can't take back one day, Ash," Oak warned. "I can't say if it will be you, one of your Pokemon, or both, but it _will_ happen eventually."

Ash didn't want to see his team get hurt by the Rockets. Not again. He sagged in Ignotus' grasp and surrendered.

"Okay…"

Oak nodded and Ignotus placed Ash back on his feet gently. He still flashed a glare at the Charizard, but that was more out of annoyance for earlier than actual anger. Ignotus didn't seem to care.

Ash was hardly a threat to him, after all. He was just lots of fun to irritate.

The Professor's rough hand settled on Ash's shoulder. "Your Pokemon will recover soon, but I want you to rest. Your body needs to heal. If you wish to stick around and wait for your team, you can take one of the lofts in my lab."

He just nodded silently and started to walk off to the lab. His head was starting to hurt and his torso ached painfully after being carried roughly by Ignotus. But before Ash could step inside, Oak called for him once again.

"Ash, I do this for your own good. I'm not out to get you or anything," Oak said gently. "Get some rest today, maybe tomorrow as well, and when you're feeling better, I'm going to teach you, Leaf, and Gary something you'll all like."

The way he said that ensured Oak was offering some kind of training. With the Professor's wealth of knowledge, it was not something to be missed. The prospect of training again lit up Ash's spirits again somewhat and he managed a half-hearted smile in response. "Thank you."

Oak simply nodded. Ash then made his way into the lab, where he wandered to the break rooms in the west wing of the building, found a free loft to climb into, and passed out about five seconds after he hit the mattress.

* * *

 **A/N: Phew, finally getting this chapter out! Between work, college exams, a mild case of writer's block, and other things, I wasn't sure I'd even get this sucker out before November ended! Not to mention this chapter bit, kicked, and fought me the whole way. Thankfully, much of my inspiration was redeemed by Pokemon Moon, which is just as well because tomorrow basically starts a week of nonstop mayhem for me during which I will have no time for writing. Also, I know that this chapter is, well, quiet, but rest assured it will pick up again starting next chapter. To the review responses for chapter sixteen!**

 **Gabriel Herrol: It is very weird to see a competent Team Rocket. I'm rather used to the antics of Jessie, James and Meowth to be honest. Talking about that dastardly trio, where are they? I'm not too sure on how I feel about the realities between a mortal and immoral trainer either. I do hope that the adults in charge are going to whip Gary, Leaf and Ash and their Pokémon in tip top shape. I mean if they are so tangled with Team Rocket's plots, better to have them prepared to handle themselves or they could always retire their Trainer Licenses and confine them to Pallet while the adults in charge do their jobs.**

 **-Well, they are a big criminal organization. In a more realistic story like Challenger, it only makes sense for them to have a serious presence. In regards to our familiar dastardly trio, you might be pleasantly surprised to find that they'll make an appearance before too long, though perhaps not in the setting that you'd think. Ash and the others will be training hard, but I think we can all agree that if someone tried to confine them, they'd probably run away, right?**

 **Guest: I love the fact that the admins are actually powerful. Whilst in game, they are not particularly strong, Archer has Pokemon who are at the level of some of Will's weaker Pokemon in the game. The fact that you've scaled up their power is really good. However I feel you may have scaled them up a bit too much. I think you should make it so that the admin Pokemon are equipped with something that enhances them and that by a bit of tactical play, ash can bypass that somewhat. after all, Ash has a Charizard and a Krookodile, both of whom are known for evolving at levels close to what the admins would have their Pokemon as mid game.**

 **-They are called "Admins" after all, wouldn't be much of a title if they were weak! But I think you're getting the wrong idea here- the story has some similarities to the games, but it's not based on the same "level system" that the games possess. Plus I'm not really a huge fan of "held items" in a realistic story unless we're talking about Mega Stones.**

 **Deathwarder: I love your story but i must admit I am scared. I loved the Traveler too until it became like way too supernatural and shit. Please don't make Ash in your story a chosen one or something like that. Just allow him to be a normal alright maybe a prodigious trainer but still no supernatural bullshit. I cant even read the Traveler anymore because of that and i don't want the same to happen to this awesometacular fic!**

 **-Me personally, I rather like the supernatural tone of Traveler. It's very unique and refreshing amidst a tide of stories that more or less generally amount to the same thing in one way or another. However, I can assure you and all the readers that I won't be getting quite as supernatural as TheStraightElf has, despite my admiration for all of his work. I feel taking a similar tone in Challenger would be robbery of his ideas and instead, there will be a significantly different approach in regards to the majority of legendary Pokemon. But while we're on that subject, Elf updated earlier and I got super excited! His latest chapter was awesome!**

 **dman65: It's Beautiful. Your writing style is just amazing. I love how you focus primarily on tactile, auditory, and visual imagery to really give readers a deep understanding of the situation. Good usage of tone shifts help readers feel more connected to your story, and combining them with relief to foreshadow is ingenious. I love your choices for Ash's team as the unconventional choices really make for an interesting development.**

 **-Thank you so much! It's taken lots of practice to get the tone and descriptions right for the readers, though I know I still have lots of room to improve upon! I felt that unconventional choices for Ash's team would help outline how much work I put into the story- it's not easy taking something that few people are willing to work with and turning it into something fantastic! Cubchoo especially as I understand it from various reviews was not the most popular choice I could have made, but frankly selecting something like Riolu, Zorua, or a fossil for a prize Pokemon is just too overdone in my opinion. It would have made the story bland and uninteresting for me and I likely would have lost interest in writing it at all. I pick a few Pokemon that are more popular obviously (Charizard, Pikachu, Dratini, etc.) because I like them, but I don't want all of Ash's team to be common choices that everyone knows about. It gets boring if you already know what to expect and I enjoy the challenges that come with developing a relatively unknown Pokemon into a powerhouse that everyone loves!**

 **That's all the review responses for now! Before I say goodbye, I've got an important announcement! I have a special plan laid out for the two chapters following the next one, which you'll learn more about when the next chapter is posted! Look forward to it while I tough out this next week and work my magic for all of you!**


	18. The Training

_Chapter Eighteen: The Training_

 _The world was night and night was the world. He could see nothing, not even his hands in front of him, nor could he move. There was a dull rumble at the edge of his hearing. It was a constant thing, a pulsing that beat steadily every few seconds. He couldn't help wondering what it was, but in an instant he had something else to focus his attention on._

 _Now the world was fire and fire was the world._

 _He could move his head now, but his motions didn't feel voluntary. He could not run. He could not speak. Not that there was anywhere to run or anyone to speak to, anyways. Bright orange flames danced everywhere he looked, tinged with blues and whites as they licked at the blackness around him._

 _But fire was not here to save him from the night- quite the opposite. He felt its oppressive heat crawling nearer and nearer to him while the darkness wailed in a cacophony of voices that sounded at once like a single individual and thousands of people in agony. Terror seized in his heart. Fire was hunting him._

 _The night turned into smoke. Suddenly, he could not breathe. He opened his mouth and choked on the black clouds that the flames produced, yet as he watched, the clouds and flames roiled and gathered around him. They took on physical form, creating a wispy, serpentine body with massive red coils. His eyes trailed to the top of the creature as the head took shape and revealed a gaping maw, huge teeth, and a piercing, bloodthirsty gaze._

 _The dull rumble grew to a roar and everything was suddenly pounding like huge drums. He could only watch, frozen, as the red Gyarados dove at him mouth agape-_

-Ash sat bolt upright in his bed with a sharp gasp. He whipped his head around for several seconds, trying to gather that he was back in his room and not surrounded by flames and the Gyarados. His body felt far too hot and his heart was pounding and his head was pounding and-

A whine made his gaze snap down to find a small, white cub occupying his lap. He stared at the cub in confusion for several seconds before the dots connected and he realized it was just Cubchoo.

Groaning, he fell back onto his mattress and took deep breaths to steady his pounding heart. So it had just been a dream…

Cubchoo whined again and crawled along the boy's side carefully so he was near his chest. The cub blinked at Ash and tilted his head worriedly. Obviously, something was very wrong. He didn't like how Ash had woken him so suddenly, panting and growing hot with his eyes squeezed tightly shut. It was a little frightening.

Ash sighed when Cubchoo made another whine, probably asking if he was okay. He raised his hand to scratch at the cub's ears calmingly. "Yeah buddy, I'm okay. Just a bad dream."

Cubchoo's cry was a little quieter this time. Seeking to help his trainer somehow, he shifted to sit down beside the boy's face, where he treated Ash to a series of comforting licks. His forehead was sweaty though and it didn't taste all that great, so Cubchoo revised his plan by simply breathing cold air onto the boy.

The icy breath did wonders for Ash's current state. He closed his eyes for several seconds and just let the drop in temperature settle his nerves. That nightmare had been…new.

Just as Professor Oak had suggested, he'd taken three days off to make sure his body was recovered. Frankly, it felt great and Ash could tell that his mother had been relieved to see him resting more. Knowing her, she probably had guessed he wasn't back to 100% yet and worried that he would push himself too far. Whatever the case was, he wouldn't deny the extra time at the house had helped a lot.

Of course, he'd gone up to the lab each day to check on his Pokemon (though Eevee and Cubchoo were almost always with him) and make sure everyone was behaving, but thankfully they had taken to doing simple training exercises in his absence.

He frowned suddenly. Speaking of Eevee…

Ash sat up again and glanced around the room just in time for his mother to come in through the slightly ajar door. He blinked when he realized Eevee was by her feet. The normal type was staring at her trainer with concerned brown eyes.

"Is everything okay?" Delia asked. "Eevee came running downstairs all of a sudden while I was making breakfast. She looked really upset."

"I just had a bad dream," he replied. Ash put a smile on his face in an effort to assuage their concern. "I guess Eevee and Cubchoo panicked a little from that."

"You look awfully pale," his mother came over with a worried frown. She placed her hand on his forehead and paused a moment. "You don't have a fever, but you're a little warm…"

Before Ash could say anything, Cubchoo reared up and placed his cold paws on the boy's forehead. He could feel the temperature drop just from that and thanked the cub by stroking under his chin. "I'm fine, see? Cubchoo will keep me cool."

Delia couldn't help but smile a little at that. "Well…alright. But take it easy, okay? Your body is still healing and you don't need to overdo things right now."

"Yes, ma'am."

She ruffled her son's bed-head for a second, then turned to leave with a call over her shoulder. "Breakfast will be ready soon. Come downstairs when you're ready."

"We will," he replied. Ash waited until she shut the door before patting the bed for Eevee to come up. She did so and found a few scratches behind her ears waiting for her. "Thanks for going to get mom, Eevee. I'm sorry I scared you guys."

She chittered softly and leaned into his touch. Eevee had been worried when her trainer when he started to thrash in his sleep. She had tried waking him up with Cubchoo, but when that failed, she opted to find Ash's mother. Even though he said he was fine, she could tell from the bags under his eyes that he wasn't truly okay.

He'd had a nightmare. Eevee didn't think Ash could have nightmares.

"C'mon, you guys," Ash stood up and stretched, shaking off the last effects of his rough start to the day. "We're finally going to start training, but let's have breakfast first! I'm starving!"

Cubchoo and Eevee bounded after their trainer as Ash led them downstairs. At least he still had his appetite going for him.

* * *

"Hey there, Arcanine," Ash laughed as the massive canine bounded over and gave him a sloppy, affectionate lick on the face. He wiped the drool from his skin and grinned, unabashed, at the happy fire type. "Having a good day?"

Arcanine barked, a deep sound that would have been fearsome if Ash didn't know her so well. Not to mention, Arcanine was wagging her tail quite eagerly. She looked like a giant, overexcited puppy rather than a master class fighter.

He scratched her behind the ears and smiled when the huge dog leaned her head into his touch. "Arcanine? Would you mind finding the rest of my team and tell them to meet me here? I don't know where everyone is at right now."

She woofed again in confirmation. Arcanine gave him an extra-slobbery kiss, spun on her heels, and quite simply vanished. Ash felt a blast of wind almost push him off his feet from her swift exit. As it was, Cubchoo was blown over with a squeal of surprise and Eevee crouched low, hissing in annoyance.

Ash couldn't help but grin in admiration. Seeing Arcanine's Extreme Speed in person was always a thrill. She could be miles away in less than a minute. No doubt she'd find the other members of his team before too long and inform them that he was here to begin training with them in earnest.

"So," Ash looked down at Eevee and Cubchoo with a big grin on his face. They stared back with curious expressions. "Are you two ready for some training?"

Eevee nodded and chittered. Cubchoo just tilted his head, looking a bit confused by the concept. The last time they'd gone out for training, Ignotus had curb-stomped half the team.

"It'll be fine, Cubchoo," Ash reassured the little ice type. "Ignotus won't be attacking us again, I promise."

He paused when he felt a familiar sensation that he was being watched. Ash looked down at the shadow between his feet and fondly noted the single, red eye glowing there. "You finally came back, Spectre?"

Cubchoo startled when Spectre quite literally floated out of Ash's shadow, skull mask intact and back to his usual cheery self. The Duskull flew up in a circle around his trainer until he was eye level with the boy.

Ash raised an eyebrow. "…is that duct tape?"

Somehow, the ghost had gotten his wispy hands on duct tape and was now using it to cover up the cracked tooth. Ash had no idea where he'd found it or how he knew to use it, but the image it made was…different. At least with the injury covered, Spectre seemed more comfortable than before.

Spectre tapped his forehead to bring the boy back to reality and Ash tapped the skull mask in return, resulting in a delighted sound from the little ghost. Ash chuckled and placed his hat on Spectre's head. "Well, whatever. It's nice to have you back with us. You're right on time for some training."

Spectre's red eye flashed eagerly at that. It wasn't that he was looking forward to hard workouts- he didn't enjoy those quite as much as some other members of the team. No, what Spectre was looking forward to was developing new pranking techniques to use. That was his bread and butter.

Ash smirked as Spectre decided to float down and converse with Cubchoo, who was only eager to make a new friend once he realized the Duskull wasn't dangerous. Eevee settled down by Ash's feet while the group waited for the rest of their friends to come to them and make the team whole again.

"Hey, Ash!"

He paused and glanced towards the lab as a bright-eyed Gary Oak walked out of the building with his grandfather not far behind him. Leaf was trailing the pair, looking much better than she had the last time he'd seen her. She seemed less tense and reserved, though it was obvious she wasn't quite herself yet. Teddiursa was in her arms and cried cheerfully upon seeing Cubchoo, leaping to the ground to chase his friend. Leaf didn't stop the cub and even smiled fondly after him as he played with the ice type.

Gary shoved his hands into his pockets as he neared the other boy. "Back from your vacation?"

He snorted. "I wouldn't really call it a vacation. All I did was eat, sleep, and make a few notes for my team's training."

"Hey, at least you got some stuff done," Gary shrugged. "I've kinda been…out of commission for the last few days. Leaf too."

That got a raised eyebrow out of Ash and an irritated glance from Leaf, though she said nothing. "I'd have thought you two would be training as soon as you could."

"Ah, well…I had to figure a few things out," the other boy said. He waved it off. "It's nothing big, just personal stuff."

Frankly, anything that could make Gary Oak willingly stop training for even a few days was something Ash felt should be talked about, but then maybe his grandfather had something to do with it. The Professor knew more about these…situations than any of them. Perhaps he'd insisted they all rest, even if Ash was the only one who'd suffered physical injuries.

Unhelpfully, he remembered the nightmare he'd woken up from that morning. Maybe Gary and Leaf had been having bad dreams as well. Not all of the injuries had been physical ones.

He also wanted to bring up Gary's spilling the beans about their interactions with Team Rocket to his grandfather, but decided against it for now. They were all just starting to truly recover from the St. Anne incident.

Confrontations between friends didn't need to happen right now, for all of their sakes. Ash could practically see the rift that had formed between himself and Leaf. He didn't want to push away Gary as well.

The Professor cleared his throat for their attention before the silence that formed could get awkward. "Ahem…Now that you three are gathered here, I believe this is a good time to get you all situated for your training. I know Leaf has her team with her already. Gary sent off Pidgeot to gather the majority of his Pokemon- they're spread all over the corral. Ash, what about you?"

"Arcanine actually took off to go find them a minute ago," he replied. "They should be here before-"

He was cut off as a deep grunt and an eager trill greeted him. Ash glanced to the side just in time for Jasmine to rocket towards him, partially coiling herself around his left leg while her head nuzzled a bemused Eevee. Douse was jogging after her, slower thanks to his bulk, but Ash smiled and waved at the Poliwrath.

That left only Sobek and Pyro, whom Ash doubted would take long to return.

Oak cracked a smile. "Good. All of you can find a place in the corral to work with your teams. If you need help with any techniques, just let me know and I'll do what I can."

"Is it alright for you to be taking time away from the lab for us?" Leaf asked. "I mean, you're usually really busy…"

"This is a compromise. It's not like I've got a pressing study at the moment and this _does_ count as work- you three will be guinea pigs for a few minor reports of mine. Even if it is more entertaining than the usual paperwork at my desk, it's still work."

Guinea pigs. Spectre cackled at the Professor's description of the three trainers and Ash couldn't help but smirk at the sound. Evidently, the little ghost had regained his sense of humor.

"And besides, I won't be overseeing every little thing you do. I'll just be helping you with any problems you might have and point you in the right direction," Oak went on. "I won't pry into any secret projects you might be working on unless you want my help. Any more questions for now?"

When he received none, the Professor grunted. "Very well, then I'll see you all later. Good luck."

With that, Leaf (along with Teddiursa, much to Cubchoo's displeasure) and Gary headed off. Oak went back into the lab, leaving Ash to wait on his remaining pair.

They didn't leave him waiting long. Pyro flew in behind a racing Arcanine after another minute and Sobek popped out of the ground as the former two made it to Ash and the others. The Charizard and Krookodile took their places with the rest of the team while they waited for his orders.

Ash was given an extra slobbery kiss by an eager Arcanine after he thanked the huge canine for finding his Pokemon. Once the fire type bounded off in search of the Growlithe pack, Ash wiped the drool from his face and turned to his friends.

"Sorry I've been out of the picture the last few days, everyone," he started. "I think we all needed some rest. How's everyone feeling?"

The response was a cacophony of eager roars, grunts, trills, and chitters. Ash grinned and cracked his knuckles. "Good, because we've got lots of work to do. I hope you're all ready to train!"

Loyally, his friends followed him.

* * *

Ash took them to a part of the fields that was currently unoccupied. It was far enough away from the nearest forest that they wouldn't have to worry about a stray explosion lighting a fire, which was one less thing to distract them from training. Most of the wild Pokemon roaming the ranch tended to stick closer to the lab, where most of the food was concentrated or the forest where they had shelter. Oak had a few other areas for the Pokemon to reside, of course, but that was besides the point.

What they needed to think about now was training.

"Okay, I'm recalling most of you," Ash got their attention as soon as they arrived to the training spot. "You're about to get some new TMs. We'll be working on those mostly today. I hope you're all ready."

He smiled wryly as a wave of noise washed over him, enlightening to him the fact that they were more than ready. Ash recalled pretty much his entire team with two exceptions- Cubchoo and Jasmine, who would be starting their training by learning Ice Beam.

"I haven't seen what you can do yet, so we'll worry about TMs for you another time, alright buddy?" Ash told the confused cub as he sat down in the grass and pulled out the TM Case from his backpack. Cubchoo whined, but it wasn't an upset noise- he just wanted some attention. Ash smirked as Cubchoo crawled into his lap and eagerly batted at his hand to convince him the cub needed some love.

"Mom spoiled you," he chuckled, surrendering one hand to rub Cubchoo while the other managed the TM Case and his various pokeballs. Meanwhile, the cub rolled onto his back and let his tongue loll out while Ash's fingers massaged his chest and belly.

He glanced at Jasmine, who was coiled next to him patiently. "You and Cubchoo will be learning Ice Beam together, okay girl? Don't worry, I promise I didn't forget about you."

Jasmine only trilled her understanding. She knew that Ash would _never_ forget about her. Or her Yache berries, which she was thrilled to discover would be grown in Delia's garden before long.

One couldn't have too many Yache berries. They were wonderful things.

He was in the process of downloading the information for learning Dragon Claw to Pyro's pokeball when a thought struck him. "Cubchoo, do you want a nickname?"

Cubchoo tilted his head upside down to look at Ash quizzically while the boy explained. "You know how some of the team members have a name, right? Besides their species name? I wanted to know if you'd like one as well."

The cub let his head fall back for a few moments before leaning back up- almost like he was doing a sit up- and whined eagerly. Ash smiled and began to run the names he'd thought up over the last few days through his head. He hadn't totally forgotten about possibly naming Cubchoo, though he _had_ forgotten to ask the cub.

He'd opted to pick a name that was native to Cubchoo's natural home- the northern ice lands of Unova. Ash ran several of them by the little cub. Surprisingly, Cubchoo seemed more partial to the fiercer sounding names. They didn't exactly reflect the cute creature that he was now, but Ash supposed Cubchoo wanted to become a great, strong Beartic one day and wished for a name that would fit his image.

Names like Nanuk, Anyu, and Cikuq were discarded rather quickly, though Cubchoo seemed to like the first one a little. He found himself more drawn to names like Akiak, Kailar, and finally the one that he seemed most excited about.

"Arctus?" Ash repeated, finding amusement in the way Cubchoo practically squealed and rolled in his lap until the cub rolled onto the ground in a tangle of limbs. He snorted in laughter as Cubchoo squeaked in surprise and scrambled back to his four paws to turn in a circle, sniffing to make sure everything was in its rightful place. Ash reached forward and ruffled the soft, bluish-white fur between the cub's ears fondly. Cubchoo leaned into the contact and whined happily, sealing the deal as far as names were concerned.

Arctus it was.

"Then from now on, Arctus is your name," Ash told the cub. The newly dubbed Arctus shivered in delight at his title and pounced on his trainer, gently pushing him onto his back with a playful growl. Ash laughed and wrestled with the cub for a few moments, who was surprisingly strong despite his small size. Arctus wasn't a baby, but he definitely still had growing to do before he reached full size for a Cubchoo. Once he got to that point, he'd be too strong for Ash to roughhouse with fairly and there'd be no contest by the time he evolved.

But for now…

Arctus squealed as Ash managed to pin him with his more dexterous arms and hands by flipping Arctus onto his belly to quickly pin him down, though he was gentle. The cub growled and scrambled in an effort to get away, but Ash had him in a spot that was difficult to escape- honed from years of wrestling with Gary and some of the other boys in their class.

Finally, the cub surrendered with a wheezy whine and Ash let him up, still laughing. Jasmine had been trilling in amusement all the while. Arctus jumped back to his feet and shook his fur coat, shooting his trainer a dirty look.

"Oh, don't be that way," Ash ruffled the cub's fur again and smiled. "You'll get bigger and stronger before too long. Let me win just once, okay?"

Arctus pondered that for a few moments and relented. He would let his trainer have one, small victory over him just for fairness' sake.

But all bets were off once he was bigger.

Ash went back to the TM Case and continued downloading the basic information for his team's new moves to their minds. TMs were useful for teaching moves that a Pokemon normally would have great difficulty learning, but they could only download the basic knowledge of a technique. Mastering that move and using it to its greatest potential effect could only be done by training.

Most of the techniques he'd taught his team so far through TMs were simple. Now he was going to have to deal with moves like Double Team and Bulk Up. Ash had never tried using TMs for anything but attacking moves, so this was going to be a new experience.

Once he was finished, he released his team and let them all situate themselves before he began the training session. Ash rolled his head to either side and cracked his neck. He was restless to get started.

"Time to get to work!" He announced. Ash immediately had the total attention of his entire team. He glanced at Sobek then. "Sobek, bring up a few targets with Stone Edge. We're going to be here for a while before the Professor calls us back."

Sobek grinned toothily and walked a few paces away from the rest of the team. With an excited roar, he slammed his fist onto the ground and made several large stone blades erupt from below. Ash didn't say anything at first, so he kept going, making two dozen of the blades appear before his trainer was satisfied that they had enough targets for the time being.

"That's enough," Ash stopped him. Sobek quickly turned back to him, not showing even a sign of exertion. He was far too pumped up for that- just the way Ash wanted him and the rest of the team to be.

"We'll be testing out some of your new moves now," Ash told them. "Sobek, you go first since you made the targets."

Sobek clenched his claws eagerly and glared at one of the stone dummies. Ash let a grin spread onto his face as anticipation got the better of him.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

Working with the new TM moves had its usual mix of ups and downs. The moves his team had learned were all relatively simple, but they'd require a few days of practice before he was 100% confident in their ability to use them.

Dragon Claw was an easy one for Pyro and Sobek to master, not to mention getting a better grasp for dragon type energy let Pyro get that much closer to perfecting Dragon Rush. Ash felt certain that by the time they left Pallet, his starter would have the move down.

Double Team had some more mixed results. Spectre was the best at it and Eevee was good as well, though the images she created still split off of her actual body. Until she could make the copies appear out of thin air, it would be easy for sharp-eyed opponents to lock onto her true location. Sobek had the most trouble with it- he was slow to create the clones and they also split off from his body. He thought that perhaps the croc was having trouble because he'd been taught two TM moves at once, but couldn't be certain. For now, it was just obvious that he needed practice.

Douse had learned Bulk Up with ease, as Ash expected. It wasn't like it was a difficult move- all it really did was pump the body full of muscle-enhancing hormones. For a fighting type, that was almost as easy as breathing.

While his team practiced their new moves (and Jasmine worked with Douse in preparation for learning Ice Beam) Ash got a chance to assess Arctus and decide on where the cub needed to start training.

"Come with me, buddy," Ash instructed the ice type, leading him to the edge of the trees where they could be alone. He scanned the foliage for several seconds before settling on a particularly thick oak tree for a target.

Ash knelt beside Arctus and pointed at the tree. "Here's how this is going to work. I'm going to call out your moves one by one and you're going to hit that tree as hard as you can, alright? I need to know just how strong you are so we can get right to training."

The cub chuffed eagerly and fixed his beady, dark eyes on the unfortunate oak. Ash stood back up and ran Arctus's moves through his mind for a moment before settling on one to start with.

"Icy Wind!"

Arctus sucked in a deep breath, then let loose a blast of icy air from his mouth. The cold wind was surprisingly strong, although any large opponent would probably shrug it off. Still, Ash shivered from the sudden temperature drop and eyed the thin layer of frost now coating the oak tree with satisfaction. Icy Wind would probably be more useful against weaker opponents and good for irritating larger ones.

He didn't know how this next move was going to work. Ash praised the cub for a good first attack before ordering the next one. "Brine!"

Ash figured that Brine would be similar to Icy Wind in that Arctus would release water from his mouth. He'd never seen a Brine before, but from what he knew about water type moves, he simply assumed it would follow a similar manner of execution.

He _didn't_ expect Arctus to rear up onto his hind legs and then pummel the ground with his front paws. Not a second later, a jet of water burst from underground and slammed into the oak tree with unexpected force.

The young trainer blinked in surprise. Well that was certainly different from how he pictured Brine, but he could definitely work with it. The way it erupted from below ground reminded him a bit of a geyser.

He shook his surprise off when the cub whined to get his attention, prompting Ash to smile at his newest teammate. "That was great, buddy. You just surprised me for a moment, is all."

Brine was definitely stronger than Icy Wind. The layer of ice that had formed over the tree had been blasted away, not to mention the impact was enough to make leaves rain down on them.

Arctus was proving to be a fair bit stronger than Ash had initially thought. He had assumed the cub's power would be somewhere along the same lines as Spectre's, but now he realized that Arctus might be a match for Eevee. For how playful he was, he was surprisingly powerful.

"Fury Swipes," Ash commanded.

With a fierce little battle cry, the cub charged his target and reared up once he was close enough. Ash watched in satisfaction as the sharp claws of his front feet left deep gouges the wood, swiping fiercely one after another. In just a few seconds, Arctus had scarred the bark with a mess of claw marks.

"Slash!"

Arctus paused this time and brought back his right paw, flexing his claws until they glowed white with power. He slashed down across the already shredded bark and left an even deeper gouge than the Fury Swipes before it. Ash whistled when he took a closer look at the damage and saw that particular blow had penetrated nearly an inch deep.

"Atta boy, Arctus," Ash praised him. He knelt to ruffle the cub's fur between his ears, getting a pleased coo in response.

That was pretty much it for this assessment. Arctus's only other moves were Growl, Endure, and Rest. Ash knew for a fact the cub had no trouble with sleep or growling, and although he did want to see how long Arctus could use Endure, that wasn't something that could be done in a one-on-one session like this. They could work on that later, when Ash figured out a way to incorporate Endure into a battle strategy.

As soon as the assessment was complete, he called the rest of his team back in from their warm-ups. Now the real work could begin.

"Everyone listen!" Ash announced. Immediately, he had his team's undivided attention. Good. "We've got a month here in Pallet Town to train before we hit the road and start aiming for badges again. All of us need to get stronger during that time. I want us to wipe out Koga when we fight him again and even more than that, we have to get strong enough to take out Gym Leaders like Sabrina and Blaine."

Despite not knowing the latter two names, his team knew Koga- well, most of them. Pyro and Sobek especially had vicious growls building up in their throats. They did not like being reminded about their defeat to the poison type master. And Ash would do his best to channel that anger into something productive.

Sabrina and Blaine would also be two vastly powerful opponents for them. Both were feared by even the most elite of trainers, and for good reason. Only a few people had defeated them in the past several years. Most trainers would try for a lesser gym that was easier to win at.

Not Ash. He wanted to grow strong enough to win the league with his team. If he wanted to do that, he needed to challenge himself. No obscure or barely-known gyms for him. He wanted to face Kanto's strongest and rise above them.

All the way to the top. He hadn't told his team yet, but he already knew which of the Gym Leaders he was going after if- _when_ , he corrected- he defeated Koga, Sabrina, and Blaine.

Giovanni.

He would tell the team once they could use another dose of extra motivation to ignite their explosive growth. Their defeat at Koga's hands and the aftermath of the St. Anne was motivation enough right now.

"Right now, I'll have most of you working on your new moves," Ash explained. "Pyro, get used to Dragon Claw and throw in a Dragon Rush every now and then as well. Eevee and Spectre will be working on Double Team while they spar. Sobek, alternate between them- work on Double Team first and then go practice Dragon Claw with Pyro. I want these new moves mastered as soon as possible so we can move on to others."

The four he'd mentioned responded in their chorus of sounds and Ash turned to the remaining three.

"Douse, we'll be working on Bulk Up later. For now, I want you to start teaching Jasmine and Arctus how to use Ice Beam. Once they get the general idea down, I'll give you another assignment."

The Poliwrath beat his fist against his belly and grunted. Jasmine and Arctus shifted over to their new mentor and greeted him while Ash nodded approval. "I'll be going over some notes for our training until the Professor calls us in. If you need me, just call me over. Now go!"

His team spread out to do their work. Ash watched them settle into their routine for a second before pulling out his Pokedex to go over his plans for them as long as they were here. It wasn't like he'd been lying in bed the last few days doing _nothing_. He'd used that time as effectively as he could, going through the data for each member of his team and thinking of where he could take each of them to make them stronger.

Oh, he had plans. They were ambitious and one or two of them might be impossible right now, but they were going to get started on them regardless.

The hard work began now.

* * *

"That's it, Arctus!" Ash praised the cub as he fired an almost perfect Ice Beam from his mouth. Arctus and Jasmine were both sparring with Douse, who had taught them both the last few days in the use of Ice Beam. Jasmine was still struggling with it, but Arctus picked it up with ease as soon as he got the concept down.

The Ice Beam struck Douse cleanly in the belly, forcing him to cross his arms in defense. Arctus' Ice Beam wasn't strong enough yet to really hurt the Poliwrath, but it was noticeable enough to make him block. As soon as the arcs of icy energy ceased to exist, Douse lowered his guard and casually destroyed the thin layer of ice on his moist skin. He grunted approvingly at the cub, who basked in the praise.

Jasmine had taken the chance to rest for a moment. She was easily the fastest of the three, but she hated getting hit by ice type moves. The jolts of freezing energy sent her body into shock and made it hard to move. Ash knew it probably wasn't that good for her, but if she built up even a little resistance to ice type attacks then this training was worth it.

He decided that Douse had done his job well enough for now. The boy approached his Pokemon while they took their short break and got their attention with a quick whistle.

"Good job, all of you," Ash began. "Douse, you did really well teaching them Ice Beam. I think we're ready to get you going on your own training. Sound good?"

The Poliwrath's eyes gleamed and he eagerly beat a fist against his belly with a low grunt. He felt a bit guilty for putting Douse in charge of someone else's training over his own for the first few days, which was why Ash had spent most of his free time developing a technique specifically for the water type to learn.

It was ambitions, a little complex, and would require him to learn several new moves. But if they could pull it off, Douse might be able to develop a unique fighting style that would set him apart from the other members of his team.

Ash glanced at Arctus and Jasmine. "I want both of you to keep sparring. You need to master Ice Beam before we can move on to the next stage of training, but make sure you keep working on your other moves, okay?"

The pair replied with their unique sounds of understanding and immediately headed off a short distance to get started. Arctus fired off another Ice Beam at Jasmine, who instantly slipped into Agility to evade the attack. Ash watched as she blurred towards the cub while her tail glowed bright green. Arctus growled and reared up to meet the Dragon Tail with Slash, pushing back until he was eventually forced back. Jasmine tended to have the advantage in most of their physical battles thanks to her greater speed and momentum, but the cub was quickly growing stronger.

He turned to Douse, who waited for him patiently. Ash grinned at the Poliwrath and nodded his head towards the tree line, where a small pond was located not far away. With that, he led the water type away from the others to begin his training.

On the way to the pond, he began to explain what was going to happen. "I have an idea that might give you a really powerful technique once we teach you a few new moves. But first, we've got to get those moves down."

Douse grunted his understanding. Ash pulled out his Pokedex as they entered the forest and continued to speak. "We're starting with Water Pulse. It should be easy for you, but I'll help you if you need it. All you really have to do is create a sphere of water with a strong energy pulse. You'll know when you've got it down- it should explode in a huge wave once it hits something."

They reached the pond, which was a fairly small body of water. It was only waist-deep and about the size of your average pool. A few Poliwag and a Poliwhirl were nearby, but they didn't appear to be threatened by Ash or Douse- on the contrary, the Poliwag stared at Douse with adoring eyes and the Poliwhirl merely looked interested.

Ash didn't think they'd cause any trouble as long as he didn't. He turned to face Douse fully. "Water Pulse is absolutely necessary for you to learn the move I have in mind. I want you to dedicate yourself to it until you have it mastered. As soon as you've finished, come find me."

Douse dipped his head, so Ash walked over to him to show a video on his Pokedex. It was a short clip of a Slowbro using Water Pulse. Douse watched attentively as the water type on-screen put its two hands together to form a sphere of water between them. The sphere seemed to pulse rapidly as it was constructed, then Slowbro launched it with a burst of energy. As soon as the Water Pulse hit its mark, it exploded into a ferocious, pulsating wave to blow away its target.

"Do you think you can do it?" Ash asked. Douse immediately nodded. It wasn't like Water Pulse was a complex move to learn, but he'd have to dedicate some time to ensure it was mastered. Ash had no doubt that Douse was up to the task, though. If Douse was half as capable as he thought, the Poliwrath would master Water Pulse in a couple of days.

"Alright buddy," Ash set his hand on the water type's powerful shoulder. "You've got this. Remember, if you need help you can always come to me. Don't drive yourself to frustration if you're having trouble. Understand?"

Douse grunted and cracked his knuckles, moving to take a spot where he was about ankle-deep in the pond. Ash watched the Poliwrath set up in a way that positioned him away from the wild Poliwag and Poliwhirl, so he wouldn't risk injuring them on accident.

As Douse closed his eyes and began to focus, Ash quietly left him to his work. He had to check on the others.

* * *

He walked out of the woods and found that Pyro and Eevee were sparring again. It wasn't actually as mismatched as one would expect. Eevee could be knocked out if she took a couple of clean hits from the fire type, but she'd taken her battles against Pyro as a chance to work on Double Team. She had yet to actually defeat Pyro, but she got better at hitting him every day, constantly flitting about with Quick Attack and Double Team to distract and irritate the fire type while she launched Swifts and Shadow Balls at him from afar.

As of yet, the only way Pyro could escape that particularly vexing combination was if he bathed the whole battlefield in fire, something that tended to eradicate all the clones and burn Eevee if she couldn't scramble away fast enough. It was blunt, but effective.

That being said, he'd realized that he couldn't allow Pyro to continue relying only on brute force any longer.

"That's enough!" He shouted. At once, Pyro stopped slashing at Eevee's clones with Dragon Claw and whipped his gaze towards Ash. Eevee let her illusions fade away, revealing that her true body had been behind Pyro. The dragon cast her an annoyed glare over his shoulder, but didn't make anything of it.

The various scorch marks on Eevee's usually perfect fur were satisfying enough to make up for their infuriating game of hide-and-seek.

Eevee also seemed a little miffed, if only because her fur was dirty, but she stood at attention when Ash called to them and padded over to sit near his feet. Pyro approached his trainer as well and stopped when he was close enough for Ash to reach up and scratch the scales under his chin. The dragon growled happily at the contact and let his tail flick.

"You two are done sparring for today," Ash announced. "We're going to meet up with Jasmine and Arctus now to work on different training."

The pair nodded, prompting Ash to lead them away and towards the spot two hundred meters away where the newest members of his team were still sparring.

Despite being the first member of his team to fully evolve, Ash knew that Pyro arguably needed the most work out of his whole team. His fighting style right now consisted of just four things: biting, slashing, tackling, and fire. That would do the trick against weaker opponents, but Pyro was far from tapping into his full potential. The more he'd thought of it, the more irritated he was with himself for not working on his starter's technique. That was plain laziness or stupidity on his part.

Pyro had a pair of wings since evolving that he barely used except to fly around and a perfectly strong tail that could be exploited as well. His control over fire type moves was good, but not extraordinary. Most of them relied far too much on brute force and not enough on actual technique.

Right now, Dragon Rush was the only move Ash could say Pyro relied almost purely on technique to use. Cynthia's help had turned it into a concentrated weapon, but the majority of his moves lacked the same finesse.

That needed to change now, while they could focus solely on training in Pallet Town. First though, Ash wanted to get Pyro's entire body trained for battle. It was downright wasteful not to do so.

Eevee was another matter entirely. Ash couldn't train her for any specific kind of battle style until she evolved because the possibilities were so varied. Flareon had stronger bones compared to other evolutions thanks to their tendency to rely on brute force, but they were slower than the others as a result. Glaceon were excellent long range attackers and also had a fairly strong bone structure to tank hits, but they had the same speed problems. Jolteon was lightning fast and excelled in attacking at range, but was frail.

And so on. All Ash could do with Eevee's training for now was teach her a few new moves and help her gain more experience in battle. She learned fast and was definitely getting stronger. He just had to be patient until she was ready to evolve and continue to improve her skills.

As soon as they met up with Arctus and Jasmine, Ash called the pair to stop sparring and gathered the four Pokemon to explain the next stage of their training.

"Right, this isn't going to be very complicated," Ash told them. "You all need to work on hitting airborne targets and Pyro has to get better at flying. Buddy, you're going to get into the air and stay up there as long as you can. Eevee, Jasmine, and Arctus, you three are going to try and hit him while he flies."

Pyro snorted a small fireball and let his wings flex. He didn't actually mind being the target, especially if he was flying. Even against his three teammates, all he had to do to shut them down was to breathe fire down on them…

Ash noticed the arrogant gleam in his starter's eyes and quickly shut that down. "Oh no, you don't get to use Flamethrower."

The Charizard actually managed to look scandalized. Ash knew that flying around and bathing the world in fire was one of his starter's favorite battle styles, but it would be way too easy for a skilled opponent to get through if it was all he did.

Ash almost smirked when he saw Eevee, Jasmine, and Arctus practically sigh in relief. That was definitely good news for them. Of course, he wouldn't make it too easy on their side of things.

"No Flamethrower, Pyro," Ash ordered again. "You can hit them with physical attacks from the air, but nothing at range. Not yet. And I want you to try using Wing Attack while you're battling them. You need to get used to fighting with your wings."

Pyro still looked a bit put out that his favorite blaze-and-raze battle style wasn't an option, but at least he wasn't just a flying punching bag. If the other three didn't watch out, he'd give them a good smack to remember him by.

Ash faced the three smaller Pokemon, who looked excited now that they didn't have to worry about their much-larger teammate raining fire down from above. This training would be good experience for them, he knew. They didn't battle enough flying type Pokemon to be used to hitting aerial targets or avoiding them, which would be a valuable skill for their travels in the future. Not to mention they'd get to fight against an opponent who was, for now, much stronger than they were.

"You're permitted to use anything against Pyro," he told them. "Make sure to keep moving. If you stay in one spot, he'll fly down and hit you hard. Work on your aim and try to predict his flight pattern. It's rough right now, but remember that he'll get better at dodging just as you get good at hitting him."

Pyro growled at the comment on his current flying skills, but he knew it was just teasing from his trainer's tone. The others found it a bit more amusing. Eevee actually snorted, though she tried to hide it as soon as it happened. Jasmine on the other hand trilled with laughter and Arctus made his own barking laugh.

Ash smirked a bit and turned to pat Pyro's shoulder. "Alright buddy, get up there."

The Charizard bared his fangs in a feral grin, spread his wings, and launched himself into the air with a burst of wind that almost knocked Ash off his feet. As it was, Eevee and Arctus were blown over with startled squeaks and Jasmine barely braced herself against it.

As soon as Pyro was airborne Ash walked a safe distance away, then stopped to look at his other three Pokemon and whistled sharply to regain their attention. "Get him!"

The three let out eager cries and began their assault on the flying Charizard. Ash watched as Arctus fired an Ice Beam right off the bat, Eevee launched a Shadow Ball, and Jasmine tried to attack with Dragon Rage. But even though he was still new at aerial combat, Pyro easily evaded the trio of moves. Arctus' Ice Beam hadn't even been aimed correctly at him. Hitting a moving target wasn't easy with the cub's lack of combat experience.

He dove down to avoid Eevee and Jasmine's attacks, then banked sharply towards them. Pyro flew low to the ground in an attempt to strike one of them with his wings, roaring a challenge. Eevee blurred away from the dragon with Quick Attack and Jasmine did the same with Agility. Arctus however tried to hit the Charizard with another Ice Beam.

His mark was good this time since Pyro was flying directly towards him, but the ice type move did little more than annoy the Charizard. Ash winced when Arctus tried and failed to flee at the last second, which resulted in one of Pyro's massive wings slamming into the cub.

Arctus was launched several feet into the air and came down with a hard thud, where he lay groaning while Pyro banked to climb higher.

"Arctus, you have to move as you go!" Ash shouted. "Don't stay in one spot! Try to use your attacks on the run!"

The cub pulled himself to his paws and growled, trying to regain the breath that had been forcefully blown out of him. He eyed the orange dragon above him with a little anger and when Pyro flew down to try another attack, Arctus waited for him to get closer. He even goaded the dragon with a particularly loud growl.

Ash raised an eyebrow. Arctus had something in mind, even if it wasn't exactly what he'd told the cub to do.

As soon as Pyro was close enough, Arctus reared up and then came down to slam his front paws into the ground. Ash blinked as a geyser of water shot out of the ground a few ahead of him at a forty-five degree angle; Brine.

Pyro's own rush carried him right into the jet of water, which blasted him clean in the face. He made a gargling roar and flew up, but was slowed by the unexpected move and his own surprise. Ash grinned when Arctus fired an Ice Beam after the dragon and hit him in the back, drawing a snarl from him.

Arctus was a quick learner, too.

* * *

Sobek let out a furious roar as Spectre launched a Shadow Ball and scored a hit right in the back of his head. The impact was enough to momentarily stun him- Spectre had gotten a lot stronger over the last two weeks. Once he recovered, the croc whirled around with a snarl, but the ghost had already hidden himself again in a shadow by the edge of the tree line. Ash watched from a safe distance with a grin on his face.

In retaliation, Sobek leapt up several feet off the ground and released an Earthquake when he slammed back down. It wasn't quite perfect, but it had definitely improved since they first started using it- Sobek didn't need to hold the energy in his body for nearly as long and he released it with much greater force. Ash still wasn't satisfied that it would be really dangerous against anything not hiding underground, but it could easily make another Pokemon trip at this point.

But he didn't want the ground to just shake. He wanted it to explode, like it had in Vermillion when they fought Team Rocket's Steelix. They would work on it until Sobek could achieve at least that in a normal state.

Spectre made a hollow noise of surprise as the quake rippled through the ground and ejected him from the shadows. Several of the trees shivered violently and rained leaves down upon him, but that was the least of his worries.

Sobek lunged at Spectre as soon as the ghost was removed from his hiding place, talons flashing with emerald energy. The Duskull retreated by floating away, although he was far too slow to evade the much swifter ground type. Instead, he took the extra seconds to generate a Double Team.

The croc hissed angrily as his Dragon Claw just passed through the clone he'd struck. He whirled around to find another dozen of the ghosts hovering around him, all charging up Shadow Balls. Sobek wasn't having that.

He used Double Team in response to confuse Spectre and throw off his aim. While the ghost hesitated and tried to figure out which one to attack, the dark type and his clones spun in a circle and breathed out thin streams of flame. It was the weaker variation of Incinerate, but there was no need to use up lots of energy on a Double Team.

Ash had drilled that into Sobek's head over the last couple of weeks, ever since they started training with Double Team. All too often, Sobek would grow irritated with the clones to the point of losing his temper and unleash unnecessarily large attacks to get rid of them all at once. And all too often, that resulted in him quickly becoming exhausted and getting knocked out.

The clones were just illusions. If you hit them with even a weak move, they would disappear. Ash knew that telling Sobek to calm down wouldn't work- they'd crossed that bridge a while ago. But he pointed out that Sobek could get rid of them without working himself into exhaustion.

The solution was for Sobek to hit them with a widespread, but weak attack. He got rid of the clones and saved energy. It was a win-win. Not to mention it helped with his aim.

Sure enough, the clones were eradicated by the stream of flames, forcing Spectre to hover out of the way. Sobek locked onto him and dispelled his own clones, deeming them unnecessary at this point. Instead, he leapt up after Spectre with another Dragon Claw at the ready.

Spectre fired a Shadow Ball in an attempt to keep Sobek away, but he merely slashed through the ghostly sphere and snapped his jaws onto his opponent. In midair, he twisted and hurled Spectre back to earth, where he hit the ground and lay there, stunned, while Sobek came back down with his mouth agape in preparation to finish the match.

"That's enough!" Ash announced.

Sobek immediately closed his jaws and landed close to the stunned Duskull, hissing with satisfaction. But he wasn't a bad sport about it and carefully helped Spectre up with his massive claws.

Ash finally approached the two with a wide smile. "That was great, you guys. Double Team is looking really good for both of you."

The pair grunted their acknowledgement. Ash paused to consider the battle and made a few more comments. "Spectre, next time he tries to catch you in the air like that and you can't just float away, give Orbit a try. It'll make it harder for him to close in and grab you like he did."

Spectre made a hollow sound. Orbit was still a new technique, but it was relatively simple: all it really consisted of was Spectre creating a Shadow Ball or a Ghost Flare and using Psychic to make it circle around him. It was a good defense for the ghost, since he wasn't really fast and had trouble evading most opponents. If they couldn't get past him without taking a hit, that would hopefully give Spectre an escape route or a chance to strike them again.

"Sobek, you did great keeping him distracted and using Incinerate like that. I know I don't really have to say this, but we still need to work on Earthquake," Ash told him. The croc nodded in agreement, so he went on. "I think you two are done sparring for now. We'll have another round later this afternoon. But in the meantime, get to work on some new moves. Spectre, you're practicing Orbit, Sobek is working on Earth Power. Understood?"

The pair dipped their heads, so Ash tilted his head to one side. "Alright, have at it."

* * *

"Ash!"

He paused when he heard his name and turned away from the sparring match. Around him, his Pokemon also stopped what they were doing and looked for whoever had summoned their trainer. Ash had been supervising several battle sessions between every member of his team, something he'd started to do at the end of each training day for the past two weeks.

It was Leaf. The girl walked over with Teddiursa at her side, and the little bear immediately ran for Arctus. Arctus squeaked happily as he was bowled over by an enthusiastic tackle from the smaller cub. Sobek, who had been his battle partner, watched them dryly.

She stopped a few feet away and bit her lip, as though she were considering what to say. Nothing felt quite right between them- they had yet to have an actual conversation since the St. Anne.

Leaf eventually made up her mind. "I'm hitting the road again today."

He blinked in surprise. "Already?"

"Yeah. It's nice being at home, but I can't focus here," she explained, toeing the ground with the front of her shoe. "I want to get back to traveling and training like I'm used to. And it's not just me. My team has been working hard, but I can tell that they aren't satisfied here. They need to get out and _move_ again."

Ash nodded slightly. He understood. Being at home was great, but he'd felt drawn to the wilderness more than once since returning. What kept him in Pallet were the various reasons he had to stay- waiting until Gyarados arrived at Professor Oak's lab, anticipation to meet up with his cousin, and to reassure his mother that he'd recovered from their ordeal on the St. Anne.

"What about your parents?" He asked.

Leaf shrugged. "They weren't happy about me leaving so soon, but they said they understood."

"Gotcha," he replied. "So, I guess I'll see you on the road?"

Her mouth set in a line. "You will."

He raised an eyebrow as Leaf fixed a steady glare on him. "Next time we meet, we're going to battle. And I'm going to beat you."

Ash frowned. "You're still mad at me, aren't you?"

"Of _course_ I'm still mad at you," she growled. "Gary, too. The pair of you sent me away like some helpless little girl when I could have stayed and helped you out! Norman had to take care of his family, but I could have stayed behind!"

"They were after us!" Ash retorted. "There was no reason to put you in danger."

Her eyes flashed. "Don't you _dare_ treat me like I'm weaker than you or Gary. Remember Ash, you haven't defeated me before. We tied. That's it. Gary might've beaten me, but he won't manage it again. You won't, either. I'm going to get stronger than both of you so you can't leave me behind."

She turned away and called over her shoulder. "Teddiursa, we're going!"

The cub whined, but he nudged Arctus in a friendly way before rushing after his trainer. The pair left Ash and his team staring after them, silent for a change.

Pyro eventually stalked over and nosed his trainer's shoulder with a concerned growl. Ash just shook his head and absently scratched the orange scales.

"I hate fighting with her like that," he sighed. "Why can't she see that we just wanted to protect her and the others? It's not like I wanted to send her away."

The dragon shrugged his massive shoulders and made a grumbling noise. He didn't know, either.

Ash crossed his arms. "Let's get back to sparring. Remember to focus on using some of the moves we've been working on. The sooner we get used to those, the better."

His team responded accordingly and began to perform the exercises he'd assigned to them. Ash took his place on the edge of the mayhem and watched the battles with careful eyes. He was going to get stronger, too. Leaf wasn't going to leave him behind.

Not by a long shot.

* * *

"How are we doing?" Ash asked of Douse.

The Poliwrath nodded and cracked his knuckles, a sure sign of his confidence. Ash grinned. He really couldn't wait to see if this idea of his would pay off.

From the few days he'd spent resting at home onward, Ash had really wracked his brain for new techniques and strategies for his team to learn. A few brief conversations with Professor Oak on the best ways to do so may have been involved as well, but aside from those small nuggets of advice (which were more of general guidelines than anything), the techniques he'd come up with were all Ketchum- originals.

Like the one Douse had been learning for the last couple of weeks. This technique, if it worked, would pave the way for another move that Ash had thought up.

"Okay," Ash took a deep breath. The moment of truth. "Let's see it."

Douse took several steps away from his trainer and closed his eyes in focus. The rest of the team, who had yet to be dismissed this particular morning to begin their training, watched him with interested eyes.

The Poliwrath clenched his fists after a few moments. Within seconds, a sphere of condensed water had formed over each one, pulsing with energy. Water Pulses.

Ash watched carefully as Douse opened his eyes, maintaining the technique. "Can you hold it long enough for a battle?"

Douse nodded again. Ash glanced at Pyro. "You're up."

The dragon thrashed his tail eagerly, always willing to fight against one of his teammates. He clenched his claws and prepared to engage the water type, who still maintained the pair of Water Pulses around his fists.

Ash glanced from one to the other. "You're both going to take just one shot. Pyro, you'll be using Mega Punch. Douse, you know what to do."

The pair grunted agreement. Ash suddenly barked. "Go!"

Pyro's fist glowed white with energy as he lunged at Douse, curling his arm back to punch at his foe. Douse mirrored him with one of his water-encased fists. They swung at each other with all their might and the two moves collided with a massive impact.

Douse's incredible physical might easily matched Pyro's own great power. The Mega Punch wouldn't overpower him- it would just negate the physical force behind Douse's attack. But it didn't stop the water.

Upon impact, the liquid around Douse's fist exploded in a blast of water. The sheer volume was enough to drench Pyro and the force behind it repelled him several feet. However, Douse lost control of the sphere and as a result, he had to create a new one after a few seconds.

Ash chewed on his lip. The move was technically a success, but it obviously needed more work. The idea was for Douse to create a punching technique similar to Fire Punch or Thunder Punch. He'd figured the best way to do so was to use Water Pulse, which had a more stable form than most water type moves. The spheres made convenient "gloves" of sorts for Douse to wear when he battled.

The problem with water was that it didn't do a lot of damage unless it had two things: volume and force to back it. Water Pulse was designed to make up for that- the sphere of water wasn't huge, but it relied on energy pulses to increase the amount of damage it could do. That same energy made the sphere explode, typically in a large wave to drench foes.

But the energy that made Water Pulse explode had a drawback in this case- it forced Douse to reform the sphere every time he struck something with it. Ash had wanted to try and develop a technique that Douse could use nonstop, but evidently it was going to take a bit more thinking on his part.

Still, he was satisfied with what he'd seen- a drenched Pyro and the obvious force behind one of the blows was enough to sell him on the technique's potency, even if it was incomplete.

"Good work, Douse," Ash smiled at the water type. "We'll practice that one some more, but it's off to a great start. I think we'll call that one Water Burst. How's that sound?"

The Poliwrath merely nodded and beat one of his fists against his round belly. Pyro growled with annoyance and Ash snorted as he watched the dragon flare up his body in an attempt to burn away the water.

He blinked. Wait…

"Pyro, hold on," Ash stopped him. Pyro glanced up at his trainer and found the boy had a thoughtful expression on his face. "How quickly can you make that water dry up?"

The dragon tilted his head curiously. Ash had an idea. "Let's see how fast you can dry yourself. Go for it."

Pyro grunted and instantly flared his body up in fire. It was more or less what happened when he used Flare Blitz, just without the reckless tackle. Ash watched steam begin to sizzle and hiss off of his starter's body as the water was vaporized. Pyro managed to evaporate the water on his body in just under a minute.

A slight grin found its way onto Ash's face as the last of the steam dissipated. He'd thought up something good.

* * *

"Everyone ready?" Ash asked.

Jasmine, Spectre, Arctus, and Sobek all nodded, eyes fixed on the stone targets Sobek had set up a few moments earlier.

Ash nodded and then suddenly barked. "Go!"

The four Pokemon unleashed the latest new moves they'd begun learning at his command, all eager to win first. The competition was to see who could master their technique the fastest. He'd offered some of the berries in his mother's garden as a prize, but his team tended to enjoy the bragging rights more.

Well, some of them. Jasmine and Arctus were actually in it for the berries.

Jasmine had been practicing Dragon Breath for a few weeks now. It was one of the moves Ash had had her working on in tandem with Ice Beam, with which she was having more difficulty learning. He put it up to type compatibility (dragons could learn ice type moves, but it tended to be hard for most of them) and decided it would be a good idea to teach her something that she'd have more luck with at the same time. It kept her confidence up and gave her another long-distance attack in her arsenal.

Dragon Breath was a fairly simple dragon type move- all it really consisted of was the user blasting raw draconic energy out of their mouth similar to a Flamethrower attack, which Jasmine was already quite good at. It wasn't as refined as Dragon Rush or Dragon Pulse, (both of which Ash intended to teach Jasmine later) but it also had a wider range and had plenty of uses. Currently, she was breathing out the sparking bluish-green fire in a large stream, although it lacked truly destructive power for the time being.

Spectre was trying to learn Dark Pulse. He was having problems that were similar to Jasmine's- dark type energy and ghosts didn't mesh very well, but he was getting the hang of it surprisingly quickly. Once he got over the slight discomfort that came with wielding the negative energy, the technique itself was a fairly simple one to learn.

Over the last few days, Ash had assigned Arctus and Douse to train together so they could learn Ice Punch. Both had made great progress, but Arctus had picked up on it more quickly (which Ash suspected was due to it being an ice type move, not to mention Douse had been focused on mastering Water Burst) and although he lacked Douse's raw power, he made up for it with spunk.

It was rather amusing to watch the cub race over to the target, rear up, and start swatting at it with icy energy swirling around his paws. Each blow left ice and deep cracks in the rock, much to Arctus's satisfaction.

Sobek had been learning a new long-range move; Earth Power. It relied on the user channeling ground type energy through cracks in the ground towards a target, where it would erupt upwards to damage them. Earth Power needed a good amount of control for it to be really effective, which Ash felt would in turn help Sobek master Earthquake. He'd still failed to recreate the devastating attack Ash had seen in Vermillion.

The more energy Sobek could build up and control, the quicker he'd come to mastering Earthquake.

A cry of victory came from an elated Jasmine as her Dragon Breath finally destroyed the stone target. Ash grinned. "Jasmine takes it- extra berries for you, girl. The rest of you finish up! Those rocks need to be gone."

The proud Dratini trilled joyously as her tail flicked. She was gluttonously claiming as many Yache berries as she could, tonight. Maybe she'd share some with Arctus. He was nice.

But she was eating most of them.

* * *

Ash let himself fall back onto the grass with a tired sigh, taking full advantage of the shade from a tree above him and the cool breeze in the heat of early August.

They'd been training almost nonstop for just over three weeks. Needless to say, Ash and his team were exhausted from the spartan lifestyle, so he'd decided they'd more than earned a break. Aunt Sarah and Luna were supposed to arrive later and Ash's mom said it'd probably be best if they didn't work themselves into the dirt today.

Besides, it was a nice day and his team was more than willing to relax for once.

Douse was doing breaststrokes back and forth across the large lake they'd chosen to reside at. He didn't mind taking it easy for today, but the Poliwrath did like to get exercise even if he wasn't training hard. Arctus and Jasmine were swimming together, the latter of which darted around the cub with her serpentine motions, although Arctus was no slouch himself. Often times, they would dive underwater for over a minute before popping back up, trilling and chuffing with laughter.

Spectre had taken to residing in the tree's shadow, the only visible part of him being a bright red eye that tended to do little circle's around Ash while the boy relaxed. He'd gotten more used to the sunlight since they started training in Pallet, but he still preferred the darkness. Eevee was currently lapping at the water, doing her best to stay hydrated. She hated the heat almost as much as Arctus- when it got really hot out, it was impossible to separate the cub from water. Ash had made sure on those days that the little ice type stayed as cool as possible.

Eevee merely demanded more baths from Ash. The sweat and heat made her feel disgustingly dirty and she would downright refuse to go to bed unless he cleaned her first.

Pyro had no such reservations. The dragon was currently soaring overhead, using the thermals hundreds of feet up to leisurely glide around with minimal effort. He would dart back and forth occasionally, practicing Wing Attack and Flare Blitz at random, but most of his charges were half-hearted. He was as relaxed as the rest of the team.

Sobek was of a similar mind to the fire type. The croc was lying on a sand bank a few meters away, having dug himself into the sand so that only his head and the spikes on his back and tail were exposed to the sun. His mouth was gaping wide open to expel excess heat, but he was nearly sleeping and looked utterly blissful.

Ash was feeling pretty tired himself. Between his healing injuries and constantly running back and forth as he trained his team, his body felt like it'd been hit by a train. His eyes were closing into a daze after just an hour on the grass. His normally restless energy seemed to be taking a back seat today in favor of much more relaxing ventures.

He was almost completely asleep when an unexpected scream of excitement jerked him back into the waking world.

 _"_ _Ash!"_

* * *

 **A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update! This was supposed to be out before Christmas, but this chapter...it bit, kicked, fought, scratched...it just didn't want to work out. I have literally rewritten this thing like five times and I still don't like it. It's not perfect and it's by no means as good as I'd hoped it'd be, but I just had to get it out of the way because I want to move on. I know there are probably going to be lots of issues with the chapter and by all means point those out. Between work and college, I just got so tired of rewriting it and getting frustrated by it that I wanted to get past it. So it's not my best chapter nor my longest, but here it is and now we're moving past it. Anyways, onto the review responses for chapter 17!**

 **zamomar1387: Great chapter as always man, keep it up! I like the reference to Tapu koko. I also can't wait to see how you write Luna's personality if I'm right in assuming she is based off the female protagonist from sun and moon. Also the power gap between Pyro and Ignotus is horrendously insane. It makes me wonder if we'll ever see Ash and his pokemon ever reach that level of power anytime soon considering how your approach towards pokemon in this story is realistic in the sense that with age comes experience and also since your updates take a while. You have adult trainers with really strong and experienced pokemon and while I understand that Ash is barely a trainer who shouldn't be OP right off the bat, considering he and his team don't have enough experience, please don't take such a long time for him and his team to reach that level, but not to the point where it seems unrealistic.**

 **-Thank you! Tapu Koko is tied with Tapu Fini for being my favorite guardian deity, but I have plans for them later. The power gap between Pyro and Ignotus is meant to set a baseline- to show the difference between an elite class trainer and a common one. Ash falls into the latter category for now, but he'll be getting much stronger as time goes on. You'll see in time that he can match even monsters like Ignotus!**

 **Lirynn: I loved this chapter soon much, and the writing was so good that I FELT Ash's frustration. (Technically, I'm still frustrated, mostly because while I agree that Ash needed a wake-up call his Pokemon didn't need to suffer for it, Ignotus was Overkill on the rest of the team when he could've just Snatched Ash and had his team running after them. Poor Cubchoo will be terrified of any Charizard he comes across. Oak didn't really need to go so far in my opinion.) Also I thought if anyone was gonna be the snitch it would be Leaf lol. She's a bit critical for someone who hasn't heard the whole story. Either way I'm sorry about my rant and sorry for your busy week, I pray that you have all the patience and future muse in the world. Yours in Fandom, Rynn.**

 **-If I translated those feeling to you that well, I'll give myself a pat on the back for good writing! :) This was one of those tough love lessons that Oak has to give out every now and again because Ash was willingly getting into too many dangerous situations. He had to remind Ash that he is still a fresh trainer and has lots of learning to do- he can't go up against the most powerful of trainers yet, including Team Rocket's elite. Leaf isn't a snitch; she's just very protective of Ash and Gary. She doesn't like it when they get hurt or do something ridiculously dangerous and she's willing to get aggressive with them if it keeps them safe.**

 **RedAuraGuardian: Good job, I really appreciate the way you write stories. You're really bringing this pokemon fic to life, your battles are written very well and the clear effort you put in is amazing. I could never do what you've done with this story, but let me tell you this. I will be with you till the end, because this story is worth the time in between updates. All of the other stories I've ever read on fanfic about pokemon can stand above this. This is my favorite fic, and I think you need to continue taking your time writing it. Please don't rush it because every writer knows that if a fic is rushed, and there is no natural flow, then there is no point in writing it, at least if you write for a readers enjoyment. When will you be updating next? its been a while since your last update.**

 **-Thank you! It's definitely taken a lot of practice going from chapter one on to get where I am now. It's still got lots of development to go through, though. I haven't been rushing my fic obviously lol but this latest chapter was just not working for me. I'll try to update faster than I did with this chapter, but I have college and work to attend to, so I can only do my best.**

 **Lucem Yoru: Hard to believe I've found something different and just as amazing as Traveler, I'll have to thank Jordinio for the offhand comment in his newest story. While Traveler is absolutely incredible when it comes to making a story epic, heavily aided by its use of the legendaries and the supernatural aspect. I think you've done a much better job at the human part of the story. Ash is incredibly relatable as he fails a decent amount but he's clearly a good kid and skilled for his age, makes me excited to see where he'll go from here. There's quite a few glorious fight scenes to imagine too on top of that, I love how powerful the Rocket admins, and by proxy; the gym leaders/elite four are here, the power gap between Ash and those above him makes every occasion where he meets them really intense.**

 **I adore the viewpoint of Ash's pokemon, especially Eevee and seeing her open up to Ash practically FORCED me to smile with how sweet it was. His team is also pretty varied, Cubchoo was a pleasant surprise uon top of Sobek since Unova is way too underappreciated with a few obvious exceptions. I was sure you'd give him a Deino on S.S. Anne and I'm honestly glad I was wrong.**  
 **Lastly, some nice minor appearances from Iris and Courtney. I hope we'll get to see more of them but either way, Iris training under Drake sounds perfect xD**

 **-I think my story still has a lot of work to do before it can match a masterpiece like Traveler XD Thanks for the offhand comment, Jordinio! I wanted to give my story a bit less of a supernatural theme than Traveler so that it would have a different feel. You'll find out more about that in the next chapter :) I also like giving his Pokemon their own unique personalities. It makes them feel more real to me and I think that helps the readers relate and enjoy them. A lot of the minor appearances from earlier will have a greater presence later in the story.**

 **That's all for review responses today, so as ever, please review and thanks for reading!**


	19. Myth and Reality

_Chapter Nineteen: Myth and Reality_

The excited scream alone was enough to make Ash practically jump straight up from his current position, but it also resulted in waking up Sobek, causing Douse, Jasmine, and Arctus to stop swimming, and enticing Spectre out of the shadows. Oh, and Eevee jumped straight up and landed in the water with a startled squeal.

If Ash wasn't so surprised, the flabbergasted and scandalized look on her face when she emerged, drenched, from the lake would have been hysterical to the point of tears. As it was, he whipped his head in the direction of the offending party and blinked at the grinning girl running towards him from the lab.

He heard a growl as Pyro flew down and landed near him with a loud slam. The dragon wasn't impressed by the commotion she'd caused, but Ash waved him off. There was no danger, even if Pyro was irritated.

The girl was just a few inches shorter than him, with short cut brown hair and dark blue eyes. She wore a red hat not unlike a flower, a pale yellow shirt with pink flower patterns on it (which was tied off at her front) and green short-shorts. Black and red sneakers along with a simple red and brown shoulder bag completed her outfit, but what undeniably made her his cousin was the wide, cheeky grin from ear-to-ear.

"You're always so loud," he jokingly complained when she got within earshot. "Seriously, we're trying to relax here."

"Shut up, you know you love me," she laughed, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tight.

Ash snorted and hugged her back. "Can't argue with that. How was the flight?"

"Long and boring," sighed Luna as she pulled away. "There was some kid kicking the back of my seat for _hours_ and this baby wouldn't shut up! I had to put Cinder back in his pokeball because he was getting so annoyed with it all!"

He tilted his head. "Cinder?"

"Ah!" She grinned again. "My starter Pokemon!"

His eyebrows shot up. "You already got one?"

"Mmhm! I aced the Professor's trainer exam on my first try," she held her fingers up in a peace sign. Luna glanced at Pyro, who was studying her in silence. "This is a Charizard, right? Was this one your starter?"

"Yeah," Ash smiled at the dragon. "This is Pyro. He's my starter and he's probably the strongest Pokemon I have right now."

Pyro puffed out his chest tilted his chin up in a display of pride, albeit with a touch of not-undeserved arrogance. Luna giggled. "He looks pretty strong. What about your others?"

He paused as something wet nudged his ankle, and Ash blinked when he realized it was a very miffed looking Eevee. She was clearly displeased by her current situation if the withering glare she was shooting both him and Luna said anything.

Still, he couldn't help but hide a small smirk. "It's alright girl, I brought a towel."

She sniffed somewhat imperiously. He'd better have brought one! She'd make him walk back to the house to get one if he didn't.

So as Ash set about drying off his unhappily wet Pokemon, he gave Luna the answers she wanted. "Well, this is Eevee- she was my fourth Pokemon. She's really nice once you get to know her."

Eevee offered the girl a glare to refute that statement, but Luna was utterly unabashed. "I'm sure we'll get along just fine."

The normal type looked away pointedly. She was not going to make nice with this noisy, annoying human anytime soon unless she had very good reason to.

Rolling his eyes at Eevee's attitude, Ash gestured to the other members of his team as they approached to investigate the disturbance. "We've got Sobek, who was my third Pokemon. He's up there with Pyro and Douse for my strongest."

The croc snapped his jaws loudly to confirm this and Luna eyed him with some amusement, although she kept a respectful distance from him. "He sure looks strong."

"Douse was my fifth," Ash went on, kneeling down to jostle Eevee with the towel in an effort to dry her off. The Poliwrath dipped his head and grunted politely at the girl, who smiled back. Ash cracked a grin. "He's the quiet one of the group, but he's strong enough to give Pyro and Sobek a run for their money when he needs to."

The two reptiles growled to refute that statement, but Douse only crossed his arms quietly. He was the strong and silent type. If Pyro or Sobek wished to prove Ash's assessment wrong, he'd gladly oblige them the beat-down they so desired.

"Spectre was number six," he chuckled as the Duskull floated up to Luna and hovered in a circle around her head, keeping his glowing red eye fixated on her. "He's a prankster and he loves to scare things, but he's friendly. He likes having his mask tapped, too."

Spectre's wispy limb came out to prod Luna on the nose. She giggled at the sensation and returned the favor by poking the Duskull's mask gently. Spectre made a hollow sound of delight and did a little backflip before snatching her hat and placing it on his head.

"He's also a hat thief," Ash smirked.

Luna only laughed. "I'm used to it, trust me."

The Duskull looked positively comical with a red flower hat atop his head, but Luna didn't seem to mind and he, as ever, enjoyed the attention.

Ash felt a scaly nose nudge him and shifted his hand to scratch the Dratini's chin. "This is Jasmine. I caught her at the Safari Zone in Fuchsia City with some help from Eevee."

Luna's eyes lit up with excitement. "A Dratini! They're so rare! Oh, and she's beautiful!"

Jasmine decided she rather liked this girl with her excitable and infectious energy. She slithered over to Luna and trilled a greeting, to which the girl moved her hand to scratch behind Jasmine's pointed ears. She cooed and leaned into the touch, always eager for some attention.

"And we've got Arctus," Ash gestured for the cub to come over from Douse's side. The little ice type boldly padded forward, his confidence on the rise after seeing how comfortable Douse and Jasmine were around the girl. He tended to use their example to form his own opinions on matters.

Luna knelt to pet the Cubchoo's fluffy white coat, ruffling the fur between his ears. "Aww, he's a little sweetheart. He's an ice type, isn't he?"

Ash nodded. "Arctus is a Cubchoo. I actually won him in a battle tournament a few weeks ago. He's getting pretty strong."

Arctus chuffed in agreement with his trainer, letting his little chest swell proudly. Luna giggled at him. "Well _I_ think he's adorable. So is that everyone?"

He paused for a moment. "No. I've got two more Pokemon, but they're both…they're just not here right now."

That was a conversation for another time. Not now- not while Luna was happy and excited and naive about the terrors he'd faced on his journey. They didn't need to touch on that subject for a while yet.

"I gotcha," she nodded acceptingly. "What kind of Pokemon are they?"

"Pikachu and Gyarados," Ash replied shortly.

"Nice," Luna bobbed her head. "C'mon, let's go to the lab! Mom and I brought Professor Kukui with us!"

Ash blinked. "Kukui's here too?"

"Mmhm, I was talking with him on the flight and he was saying something about a collaborative project between himself, Professor Oak, and someone else," she tapped her chin with a thoughtful frown. "I mean, you know how he studied under Professor Oak for a while, right? Apparently he and another one of the younger Professors who graduated a few years ago are coming for a visit to discuss something."

It sounded very interesting. Any Professor who studied and graduated under Oak's tutelage was bound to be someone worth knowing. That was a conversation he'd love to be a part of if he was allowed.

"Let's check it out," Ash agreed, calling for his team to follow them.

* * *

As it turned out, every member of the lab was present (and Gary as well) to welcome the visitors. Delia was in a full-blown chatter with Aunt Sarah and a few other female members of the staff, but most of the greetings were centered around Professor Oak, a muscular, tanned man Ash recognized as Professor Kukui from the various times he'd visited the Alola region to see Luna's family, and another, slighter man with messy black curls and gray-blue eyes.

Oddly enough, Gary was talking with another kid that was probably their age or just a year older. Their conversation was rather animated and Ash was surprised to see Gary looked legitimately taken by whatever subject they were talking about. Growing up with the esteemed Professor Oak, that didn't happen very often. Gary had pretty much heard it all, so whatever they were talking about had to be something spectacular.

The kid in question looked a lot like the unfamiliar Professor- messy black curls, a slight, lithe stature, and grayish-blue eyes. Ash wondered for a moment if they were related, although the Professor seemed a bit young to have a kid. Maybe they were cousins or siblings?

"Ash!"

His attention was drawn to his mother and Aunt Sarah, the latter of whom strode over to give him a crushing hug. Ash felt the breath leave his lungs and did his best to hug her back. Those crushing hugs were definitely a family trait- only his mother and Aunt Sarah ever gave them.

"Look at how tall you've gotten!" Sarah gasped, stepping back to take a look at him. "Gosh, has it really only been a year? I swear you put on like six more inches!"

Ash rolled his eyes with a grin. "I haven't gotten that much taller, Aunt Sarah."

"Nonsense!" She made a show of squeezing his bicep, obviously doing her best to mess with him. "And my goodness, you're getting so strong!"

He heard a snicker from Luna and caught a glimpse of a gleeful smirk courtesy of Gary. Ash offered a cheery retort. "Is that a gray hair I see?"

Sarah made a horrified gasp and jokingly cuffed him over the back of his head. "Never joke about gray hairs, Ash! That's the worst thing you can ever tell a woman!"

He grinned. Worth it.

All joking aside, Sarah smiled at him. "How have you been? Has the trainer life been working out for you?"

"It's been pretty good," he admitted. "I've been traveling for about six months now and I've got a full team."

"I'll have to meet them once this first meeting is over," she said. "I promised Ian I'd video chat him about the meetings."

Ash blinked. "What's Uncle Ian doing?"

"He's actually running Kukui's lab on Melemele Island while the Professor is here," Sarah explained. "This meeting is a big deal, but they're doing a study on the adaptations of Alolan Pokemon species back home, so only Kukui was able to come."

"Who's the other Professor?" Ash asked.

Delia joined in on the conversation now. "That's Kukui's graduate partner from seven years ago, Professor Augustus Sycamore. He's the head of Pokemon research in the Kalos region and he specializes in Pokemon Evolution."

The name clicked in Ash's head almost immediately. He'd never met the young Professor, but Augustus Sycamore was already a widely respected figure for his breakthroughs in Pokemon Evolutionary research. It was thanks to his efforts that artificial evolutionary items like Electirizers and Magmarizers existed at all. Before those items came to fruition, trainers would have to resort to incredibly difficult and sometimes downright dangerous training to evolve certain species like Electabuzz and Magmar into Electivire and Magmortar.

There was nothing safe about _trying_ to get hit by a lightning bolt or training in the magma of a volcano.

Sycamore had found a way around those dangerous paths. He'd figured out a way to safely evolve certain Pokemon while sacrificing the life-threatening process that trainers risked in order to do so. In addition to Electirizers and Magmarizers, Ash knew the Professor had also helped to the Reaper Cloth, which could evolve Dusclops into Dusknoir- that was something he was very interested in. Not to mention he could ask the man about Eevee's evolutionary options.

"Earth to Ash!"

He jolted back into reality to find Luna tapping his shoulder. "Stop spacing out, lazybones. You're being greeted."

His eyes glanced to the side at a flash of movement and he realized Gary and the other boy had come over to them. Gary had a wide grin on his face. "How's it going, Ashy-boy? You end up relaxing at all?"

Ash snorted. "Maybe for ten minutes until _someone_ came running and screaming like a maniac."

Luna flicked his ear. "Butt-head."

"Loudmouth," he shot back.

"Now, now, children, stop fighting," Gary sang mockingly.

Ash and Luna both leered at him, but it was more out of amusement than actual annoyance. Gary shook his head and jerked his thumb at the newcomer, who looked a bit uncomfortable. "Anyway, this guy is Professor Sycamore's assistant. Be nice and say hello."

"Yes, _mother_ ," Ash retorted. Gary snickered, but Ash just rolled his eyes and offered a smile at the stranger. "It's nice to meet you. My name's Ash Ketchum."

"I'm Luna Archer," the girl piped in, nudging Ash with her elbow. "This dork is my cousin."

The boy cracked a smile. "The pleasure's all mine. I'm Alain Sycamore. I'm here for the meeting with my uncle."

"I thought you guys might be related," Ash commented, glancing from Alain to Professor Sycamore.

"Yeah," Alain agreed. "My mother is his older sister. She works in the lab with him, but she's keeping an eye on things back home right now."

"Gotcha. So what kind of research are you guys doing? Mom said your uncle studies Pokemon evolution?" Asked Luna.

Gary's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah, you're going to love this! We need to go ask gramps something first, though. Wanna tag along?"

"At least give us a hint!" Ash protested. Gary did not get excited for no reason. The lack of information was nagging at him incessantly.

"Fine, fine," Gary sighed dramatically. "Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise might be able to evolve again."

He turned and started walking off with a casual whistle on his lips. Ash blinked for a second as he processed that before snapping after him. "Gary!"

His rival turned around innocently. "Sup?"

"Don't 'sup' me!" Ash retorted. "What do you mean?"

"Come find out!"

Annoyed with his rival and maddeningly curious, Ash followed Gary and Alain with Luna in tow over to the trio of Pokemon Professors.

Gary jumped into their conversation without even hesitating. "Hey gramps, mind if I cut in?"

Oak glanced at his grandson and nodded shortly. "I don't see why not. All of the formalities are more or less taken care of, anyhow."

Kukui caught sight of Ash and grinned widely, throwing one of his big hands up. "Alola, kiddo! Haven't seen you in a year!"

Ash couldn't help but smile back. "Alola, Professor. How's Professor Burnet?"

"Ah, you know," Kukui chuckled. "Always busy and can't sit still! Happy wife, happy life, right? She's doing a study in Heahea City right now."

Kukui paused. "Oh yeah, you haven't gotten to meet my colleague yet, have you?"

The Alolan Professor glanced from Ash to Professor Sycamore, who was watching the exchange with a friendly smile. Kukui threw one of his burly arms around his slighter colleague and grinned again. "Welp, this is my ole' buddy Augustus! Say Alola!"

Augustus seemed used to Kukui's lack of the concept of personal space and merely chuckled. "I thought one only said Alola in the Alola region, Kukui. The people of Lumiose in Kalos say _bonjour_."

"Ah, formalities!" Kukui waved off, unabashed. Sycamore chuckled again and Professor Oak rolled his eyes, evidently familiar with his former student's casual ways.

"Regardless, it's nice to meet all of you," Sycamore dipped his head once Kukui let him go. "I'm the leading Pokemon Professor of the Kalos region, Augustus Sycamore. You can call me Augustus or Professor Sycamore, if you so wish. Either one works for me."

"I'm Ash Ketchum," he introduced himself. "I'm a trainer here in Kanto."

"Luna Archer," the girl beside him announced. "I just became a trainer, actually! I'm from Alola. Ash is my cousin."

Sycamore nodded to both of them, then glanced at Gary. "It's nice to meet you all. I already know Gary from the time he came with his grandfather to visit my lab a few years back. You've all met my nephew, Alain?"

"Yes," Alain confirmed. Sycamore smiled.

"Good, then we can get right down to business," the Kalosian Professor said.

Ash briefly interrupted. "Excuse me?"

Sycamore blinked and looked at the boy curiously. "Yes?"

"Erm…Gary was saying something a moment ago about Pokemon evolving past their final stage," Ash began a little awkwardly. "Is it true that my Charizard might be able to evolve again?"

Sycamore looked legitimately surprised and then glanced at Professor Oak, startled. "You said the three new trainers you told me about only started training six months ago, right? Their starters have reached their final stage _already?"_

"I told you they were skilled, albeit still young with a lot to learn," Oak smiled at Gary and Ash with a touch of pride. "Although Leaf ended up leaving Pallet Town over a week ago, she too is just as talented with her Pokemon."

"I'll take your word for it," Sycamore replied, shaking his head in bewilderment. "I shouldn't have doubted it to begin with, but such growth doesn't happen all that often…"

He crossed his arms. "Forgive me for trailing off topic. To answer your question, Ash, there is a possibility that yes, Charizard may be able to evolve again. But it's a topic shrouded in a not inconsiderable amount of mystery. A lot of the mechanics behind this theoretical evolution are still not fully understood."

"But how?" Luna tilted her head, confused. "I thought all species of Pokemon only had one or two evolutionary stages. Some don't evolve at all, right?"

"You're correct," Sycamore gave her an approving look. "For decades, that has been our understanding of Pokemon Evolution. But in rare instances, almost exclusively in the Kalos and Hoenn regions, there are times when that knowledge is challenged- a species thought to be at its final stage will evolve further. Charizard, for example."

Ash listened in rapt fascination. This was news to him. Huge news. He'd never considered that Pyro might be able to evolve again. The laws of Pokemon Evolution told him that such a thing was impossible. And yet here was a possibility that those laws weren't the be-all and know-all of the Pokemon world.

Professor Sycamore went on. "The term for this phenomenon is Mega Evolution. In other words, an evolution that exceeds what was thought to be possible for a Pokemon species."

"I've never even heard of that," Ash said, a little dazed by the information. "So can all Pokemon reach that extra stage?"

"No," Professor Oak intervened here. "They can't. Part of the reason why Mega Evolution is so rare and poorly understood is because there are a limited number- at least to our knowledge- of Pokemon capable of achieving it. Moreover, the conditions for it to occur are very, very specific. Also, a Pokemon only Mega Evolves temporarily- it regresses back to its original form after a time."

Gary's eyes widened. "Wait, wait, wait, it changes _back?_ That never happens!"

"Only in the instance of Mega Evolution will a Pokemon revert to its previous form," Sycamore explained. "That rule is ironclad for all other stages of a Pokemon's evolutionary growth. Mega Evolution is something else entirely. What's more, it appears to be a stage reserved almost solely for battle. The instances where I've seen Pokemon Mega Evolve occur only when they are in combat. There's a theory that it became possible for Pokemon to Mega Evolve as a way of defending themselves from enemies that exceeded them in power."

"I don't know about that," Kukui argued. "It needs conditions that are _way_ too specific for it to be a reliable defense mechanism. A wild Pokemon finding a matching Mega Stone would be rare enough, if plausible at least, but they can't do anything with a Key Stone."

"I agree, but you have to admit that Aerodactyl and Metagross are good examples to back it up," Sycamore remarked.

Kukui inclined his head. "Point. But that's just two species."

"We should probably sit down," Oak interrupted his former pupils. "As enlightening as this conversation is, I'm not in my twenties like you two are."

"Sorry, Professor," Sycamore apologized.

"Think nothing of it," Oak waved off, then headed towards the back of the lab where he had a conference room. The Kanto Professor glanced back at the crowd of staff members and visitors. "If I may, my pupils and I have some League matters to discuss that shouldn't take too long. How about we get those out of the way and we can all pick up this topic once we're finished?"

Sycamore nodded and looked at his nephew. "Alain, if you want you can talk to Gary, Ash, and Luna about Mega Evolution to pass the time."

Alain glanced at the other kids, who all nodded eagerly, and cracked a smile. "I wouldn't mind doing that."

"I know. You enjoy talking about it as much as I do," Sycamore laughed, then followed Oak and Kukui to the conference room.

Delia tapped on Ash's shoulder to get his attention for a moment. "Aunt Sarah and I are going back to the house to get their luggage sorted out. Will you be okay here with Luna?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied.

She smiled. "Good. We'll be cooking once that's over with. We're going to have a big cookout here at the lab tonight!"

The mere mention of a big cookout with his mom in charge of the cooking made Ash inwardly drool and he couldn't help but grin. "Alright!"

His mother laughed at his enthusiasm, said goodbye to the others, then left the lab with Aunt Sarah in tow.

"It's kinda cramped in here," Gary said suddenly. "Let's go out back to the battlefield."

* * *

"How come I've never heard of Mega Evolution?" Luna asked.

The four kids were hovering around a bench in the shade, just on the edge of the battlefield. Alain had taken a seat alongside Luna, while Gary leaned on the back and Ash paced back and forth in front of his friends.

"It's not all that surprising, actually," Alain admitted. "Mega Evolution and its lore has been almost exclusively focused in the Kalos region for hundreds of years, and it's rare even there. It's only recently that research has started in Hoenn, as well- a huge part of the scientific community was caught off-guard when Mega Stones were discovered at the Granite Cave on Dewford Island. Now they're faced with the possibility that Mega Evolution's origins might have extended to Hoenn as well as Kalos."

"Why don't they teach it in schools, then?" Luna queried with a frown. "I've never even heard of it until now."

"The reason is because it's such an obscure topic that most trainers don't even _need_ to know about it," Gary cut in. "It's not like Mega Evolution is kept out of the public eye, but so little is known about it that most schools and institutes outside of Kalos don't even touch the subject."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Is it that rare?"

"Yeah," Alain confirmed. "I know how it works, but that doesn't help much. For Mega Evolution to occur in a Pokemon, specific conditions have to be met. First, you must have a Mega Stone- a type of evolutionary stone that triggers Mega Evolution for one exclusive species of Pokemon. For example…a Charizard would have to be holding a Charizardite Mega Stone. If it held a Venasaurite, the Mega Stone for Venusaur, then it wouldn't be able to Mega Evolve."

"The second condition is the possession of a Key Stone, which is what the trainer holds," he went on.

Ash blinked. "The _trainer_ needs a stone, too?"

"Yeah. A Key Stone and a Mega Stone in tandem trigger Mega Evolution," Alain explained. "If you have just one of either of them, the Pokemon in question won't be able to Mega Evolve. A Key Stone can interact with any Mega Stone, but they're just as rare."

"So you need those two stones for a Pokemon to Mega Evolve and the right Pokemon to match with a Mega Stone," Luna listed off. "Is that it?"

Alain snorted. "If that were all, anyone could use it. No, for Mega Evolution to occur, the trainer and the Pokemon in question have to have a powerful bond. I don't mean the kind of common friendship you can find anywhere- my uncle's research suggests that a trainer and Pokemon need to be a single unit, able to react with each other on instinct during the heat of battle. You need to understand and trust one another beyond a shadow of doubt. When those conditions are met, something happens to the Key Stone and Mega Stone that makes them react to one another, triggering Mega Evolution."

Ash chewed on his lip thoughtfully. He knew Pyro well and he trusted his starter unquestionably, but was that enough for the Charizard to Mega Evolve? There was a nagging doubt in the back of his mind, like there was something they were missing…

He shook his head. No, he trusted his starter beyond a shadow of doubt. If they got their hands on a Key Stone and Mega Stone, surely they'd be able to use them.

"Why aren't all Pokemon able to Mega Evolve?" He asked.

"Who knows?" Alain shrugged helplessly. "To be honest, even the experts on Mega Evolution in Kalos have no idea. It's possible that some species can and the Mega Stones for them just haven't been discovered yet. But as for the ones who _can_ Mega Evolve, we know a bit more. They have a hidden "potential" to expand their power in their genes that just can't be tapped normally."

"What do you mean?"

"We'll use Charizard as an example again since it's got obvious traits," he replied. "When most people look at a Charizard for the first time, they tend to think it's a dragon type, right?"

Ash nodded. He'd been guilty of that thought the first time he'd seen a Charizard as well.

"It's not an unfounded mistake, either," Alain went on. "Charizard look and even act like true dragon types- they share behavioral and physical traits with Salamence and Flygon. And yet they can't tap into dragon type energy nearly as well as those species because ultimately, they aren't dragon types."

"But they have the potential to be in their genome," he explained. "The Mega Stone for Charizard, Charizardite, causes those latent genes to switch on when Charizard Mega Evolves. As a result, it gains the dragon typing while in its mega form."

Ash's eyebrows shot up. "Its type changes?"

Alain nodded, grinning slightly. "When Charizard Mega Evolves, it changes from a fire and flying type into a fire and _dragon_ type. As long as it's in that form it can channel dragon type energy, normally difficult for it to manage, thanks to those latent genes that awakened when it Mega Evolved. Once it reverts, it becomes a fire and flying type again."

Ash felt stunned. The more he heard about the topic, the more he felt like he was in an entrancing dream. Pyro had the potential to become a real dragon. What on earth could he do with moves like Dragon Rush and Dragon Claw in a form like that?

"Hey Ash, you're drooling," Gary mocked.

He almost raised his hand on reflex since he was processing the information, but Ash managed to stop himself and dryly glared at his rival. "Shut up, I'm trying to wrap my head around all this."

"It's a lot to take in," Alain offered helpfully. "There aren't a lot of trainers who can Mega Evolve their Pokemon, either. Most people who've never seen it assume it's a myth."

"Is it?"

The boy shook his head and pulled out a dark blue device- a Pokedex, Ash realized- and tapped a few things on the screen before holding it out for the others to see. "Take a look. This is a picture of Mega Charizard."

Ash couldn't have moved fast enough to look at the mythical beast he'd heard about. His eyes trailed the form on the screen, which seemed to be airborne and in the middle of a battle if the torrent of blue fire erupting from its jaws said anything.

It was menacing and beautiful all at once. Jet-black scales with shades of blue, sharp horns and almost ragged wings, large spikes on the shoulders and neck…and almost all of the terrible dragon was bathed in its magnificent blue flames, so horribly hot that they warped the air around it. Its body was physically more muscular than a normal Charizard, with noticeably stronger arms and claws, not to mention its jaws and tail looked more robust.

If there were ever the perfect example of a dragon, Ash knew what it looked like now. This mythical monster, an impossible evolution from an already powerful Pokemon, was the very incarnation of dragon types.

"It's amazing, isn't it?"

Ash glanced at Alain, whose eyes gleamed at the sight of the ferocious black dragon. "My Charizard and I have a dream that one day, we might be able to trigger Mega Evolution. In that form, nothing could be stronger than us."

"You have a Charizard too?" Ash questioned in surprise.

Alain looked back, a grin on his face. "Yeah. I meant to ask you this after I heard you had a Charizard, but there was a lot to talk about, so I refrained. Shall we have a battle to see which Charizard is stronger?"

He felt his lips curl up in a fierce smile. "You're on!"

Gary smirked between the two of them. "I'll referee. Get your butts on the field, already."

* * *

"…as I was saying, Richard Birch and his team in Hoenn have discovered numerous Mega Stones in the last few months," Professor Oak explained as he looked over the report in front of him- the same as those in the hands of his two pupils. "He's not yet confirmed exactly what types they are, but an initial analysis suggests that one reacts with Gallade and another reacts with Pidgeot."

"I can't say I'm especially surprised by the Gallade Mega Stone," Kukui remarked. "We've known for decades now that Gardevoir was capable- I mean, the current Kalos Champion has a Gardevoir that Mega Evolves. It didn't make any sense that Gallade couldn't do the same."

"Pidgeot is a new one, though," Augustus admitted, scratching his chin. "At least, to my knowledge. It's possible that Gurkinn has records regarding it at the Tower of Mastery. I haven't had a chance to meet with him as of late- he's been busy with the gym and I've been caught up in my own studies. I'll have to pay him a visit once the full report on the Hoenn Mega Stones comes in."

Oak glanced at him. "Gurkinn is our only great well of information regarding Mega Evolution. The Stone family in Hoenn are the best at finding Mega Stones, but their knowledge of them is as limited as our own, even with Devon's tech."

Sycamore nodded, but he suddenly caught a glimpse of movement from the window. Turning his head, he blinked when he saw his nephew and Ash on the battlefield behind the lab- each with a Charizard on their side.

"Augustus?"

He glanced back at Oak and Kukui, who were staring at him. "I'm sorry, could you repeat the question?"

"Is something wrong?" Oak asked him.

"Ah- no, no, I'm sorry," Sycamore scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I just happened to notice that my nephew and Ash are about to battle each other. Their Charizard look rather evenly matched."

Kukui glanced towards the window instantly and Oak sighed in defeat. "I see you're as prone to distractions as ever…"

"Distractions are a good thing, boss," Kukui joked. "If you notice a lot of distractions, sometimes you'll notice something new!"

"You make a fair point," Oak admitted somewhat grudgingly. He would have liked to get the report read and done asap to continue their work, but the opportunity to see one of his pupils face the pupil of his former student was an intriguing prospect.

Not to mention that for their age, he could see that both of the Charizard on the field were exceptional specimens. Given that they were both snarling furiously at the mere sight of one another, he could tell it would be a good fight.

"Very well, we'll take a brief break to enjoy the fireworks," he decided. Kukui grinned and watched the trainers outside eagerly. Ash and Alain looked ready for the battle, Gary was acting as referee and Luna was sitting on the bench with a small, red and black Pokemon, but Augustus was fixated on the two orange dragons as the battle began on the other side of the window.

* * *

"Battle…" Gary raised his hand and slashed it down a moment later. "Start!"

"Flamethrower!" Ash and Alain shouted simultaneously.

The two Charizard reacted to their trainers' commands flawlessly, unleashing rippling torrents of flame from their jaws. With a blast of heat, the two streams of fire collided, showing that their strength was about even.

Alain took the initiative. "Drogo, Steel Wing!"

Drogo's wings flashed metallic silver and then the dragon was off, launching himself into the air and down at Pyro, who roared a challenge.

"Flamethrower again!"

Flames barreled out of Pyro's maw and zeroed in on Drogo, who surprised Ash by diving in regardless of the risk. He tore straight through the flames and slammed one of the metallic wings into Pyro's gut, driving the breath out of the other Charizard and bowling him over.

As Drogo flew back to Alain's side, the Kalosian trainer grinned just slightly. "Charizard as a species don't bother avoiding the flames of another. It's considered a sign of weakness. Fire Blast!"

Drogo inhaled deeply for a moment, then unleashed a massive burst of fire with five points protruding from it. The conflagration surged towards Pyro, who bellowed in the face of its destructive power.

He wasn't going to dodge. Ash was fine with that. "Dragon Claw!"

Pyro's claws flashed with emerald energy and as soon as the Fire Blast reached him, he slashed at it furiously with both hands, ripping it in half and causing it to dissipate harmlessly around him.

"Flame Charge!" Alain commanded.

"Dragon Rush!" Ash countered.

Pyro and Drogo's bodies became enveloped in blue-green energy and flames respectively and they charged each other before their individual attacks even finished charging up. They collided headfirst, stunning themselves for a moment as the explosive force from the attacks repelled them in opposite directions.

"Smokescreen!" Ash ordered quickly.

Pyro snapped back into reality at the voice of his trainer and exhaled a thick cloud of oily black smoke, hiding himself from the view of his enemy. Drogo was shaking the pain from his head and snarled in annoyance when he realized that his opponent was out of sight.

"Don't let them get away!" Alain snapped. "Heat Wave!"

Drogo roared and flared his wings, then flapped them in the direction of the smoke cloud with as much force as he could. The result was a gale of searing wind, which blew away the Smokescreen with ease.

Pyro was revealed in an instant, but he wasn't hiding out of cowardice- before the smoke was completely gone, he lunged out in a blur of motion, fist clenched and ready to attack. He utterly ignored the Heat Wave and focused singularly on reaching Drogo.

Alain's eyes widened at the enemy Charizard's speed. "Use Thunder Punch!"

Drogo's fist suddenly crackled with lightning, which he swung to met Pyro's Mega Punch. Although the moves were probably equal for sheer power, the electricity shocked Pyro and he roared in pain.

"Again!" Alain ordered.

"Metal Claw!" Ash retaliated.

Pyro didn't need to hear anything else to know what Ash wanted. He ducked just as Drogo swung and jammed his silvered claws into the soil, negating the shock even though his enemy's blow hit home. Drogo froze in surprise when the electric charge did nothing on his second swing, but Pyro didn't give him a chance to snap out of it.

His body ignited with bright blue flames and the dragon rocketed up, ramming his skull into Drogo's chin with a point-blank Flare Blitz that exploded upon impact. The force of the explosion threw the two dragons apart, sending them skidding to either side of the battlefield.

"Up!" Ash commanded. He didn't want Alain to get the upper hand again. The Kalosian trainer was good.

Pyro launched himself into the air. Drogo followed a moment later with a furious roar, spitting out blood and a broken fang.

"Shadow Claw!"

"Metal Claw!"

Pyro's silver talons met the writhing black of Drogo's in a midair collision, sending out a shockwave from the massive opposing forces. The pair of dragons snarled at each other angrily, neither willing to back down.

"Dragon Tail!" Alain snapped.

Drogo suddenly spun in midair with his tail glowing green as he aimed for the belly, but Ash and Pyro reacted just as quickly.

"Intercept!"

Pyro left himself open for the moment when the heavy tail slammed into his body and instantly grabbed it with his powerful claws and arms. Drogo roared and struggled to wrench his tail free, but it was awkward trying to fly and move with part of his body immobilized.

"Throw him down!" Ash ordered.

Pyro gave a massive heave and yanked Drogo around to throw the other dragon over his shoulder. While the enemy Charizard flailed in an effort to regain his aerial balance, Ash followed up. "Dragon Claw!"

Just as Drogo regained control, Pyro's huge claws jammed themselves into his back and shoved him down into the dirt on the field. The impact was heavy and made Drogo skid along the ground for several meters, all while Pyro landed on his back to keep him pinned.

"Mega Punch!"

As Pyro swung down to deliver a finishing blow on the pinned Charizard, Alain pulled a wild card. "Fire Pledge!"

Drogo roared and suddenly the ground around him erupted upwards in a column of fire that enveloped both himself and Pyro. The explosive force was enough to hold Pyro back enough from striking with Mega Punch for a moment, giving Drogo a chance to wriggle free and get back into the air.

Pyro snarled in annoyance as his prey escaped, launching himself after Drogo. The other Charizard was quick to make it clear that he wasn't retreating though, as he spun around to meet Pyro head-on.

"Thunder Punch!" Alain shouted.

Drogo darted at Pyro as both fists crackled with electricity. That high up from the ground, Ash knew there was no way for Pyro to negate the electric attack with Metal Claw. He'd have to meet force with force- and this was a good chance to try out a move they'd been working on for weeks now.

"Barrett!"

Pyro roared at the top of his lungs and then his whole body was wreathed in fire- Flare Blitz. But as he charged Drogo, he began to spin until he was corkscrewing, a spiraling fireball of terrible power.

The impact was devastating. Drogo's Thunder Punch was utterly overwhelmed by the explosive force and his body rocketed back to earth. He slammed into the dirt and skidded for several meters with enough momentum to leave a trench in the ground before he slid to a stop and remained motionless.

Pyro was not left unaffected by the terribly powerful move. He practically fell out of the sky and landed so heavily that he immediately collapsed to his knees, shaking from the recoil.

Gary watched Pyro warily for a few moments to make sure the dragon could really go on before he called the match. "Alain's Charizard is unable to battle! Ash's Charizard wins!"

Alain looked stunned as he recalled Drogo. Ash ran out to Pyro, who by now had fallen to his hands and knees in exhaustion. The boy winced at the bruised scales where Pyro had slammed into Drogo and frowned. "Sorry buddy. I know we don't have Flare Blitz totally down yet, but still…"

Pyro only shook his head as he panted, chest heaving for breath. He hadn't felt this tired after a battle in a long time. Alain's Charizard had been a ferocious opponent, even after the weeks of training Pyro had just gone through.

Barrett was a more or less a spiraling Flare Blitz. It was incomplete for now- Ash intended to add Tailwind into the mix once Pyro knew the flying type move, but the idea behind it was simple. Explosive force focused on a point by spinning. It was more potent than the reckless tackling version, but the recoil was even more brutal for the time being.

The flinch Pyro gave when Ash carefully laid a hand on his bruised scales was enough to tell him the technique needed a lot- a _lot-_ more work. Barrett was next to useless if it left Pyro this badly damaged.

"Take a break, buddy," Ash murmured as he prepared to recall the dragon. "You earned it."

Pyro grunted and didn't argue as he was returned to his pokeball. Ash stood up as Alain, Gary, and Luna converged around him. But before any words could be exchanged, they were interrupted by someone clapping.

"Marvelous!"

The group glanced towards the lab doors to see Professor Sycamore clapping, while Kukui grinned and Oak watched calmly. The Kalosian Professor crossed his arms and nodded, smiling. "That was very well done, both of you. I could see how well-trained your Charizard were. Not to mention how obviously strong your bonds are with them."

"Those moves were explosive!" Kukui chuckled. "Give em' some more time and training, and there ain't much that'll be able to withstand flames like those. I was getting riled up just watching!"

Oak huffed and approached the group of young trainers. "Although I agree with what you're both saying, _must_ I be the one who points out that those Charizard need healing? Hand me those pokeballs, you two. We'll have them back up in no time."

"Yes, sir," Ash nodded and handed the red and white sphere over to Oak as Alain did the same.

The older Professor grunted and looked from one trainer to the other. "All things considered, I give you both credit for training them so well. For their age, I've rarely seen their equal."

He felt pride swell up in his chest at the praise, but Oak was also quick to ensure they didn't get too cocky. "But Gary's Blastoise is just as well trained, as is Leaf's Venusaur. Don't get comfortable with your strength just yet- complacency will get you nowhere."

With that, he turned and walked back into the lab, muttering something to his former students. Whatever was said, it made Sycamore scratch the back of his head even though Kukui only grinned and waved. "We'll chat more later! The boss wants to get the meeting over with!"

The Professors left as quickly as they'd come, finally giving the young trainers a chance to talk with each other following the short, intense battle.

"It was a pretty good battle, wasn't it?" Gary remarked with a smirk. "Although gramps is right- Blastoise would trounce either one of your Charizard right now."

"What, not both at once?" Ash snorted.

His rival rolled his eyes. "Hey, I'm confident, not arrogant! But maybe…"

"Sometimes I have trouble telling the difference," Ash joked, turning his focus to Alain. "Your Charizard really is strong, though. Even with Barrett, I wasn't sure we were going to win that one."

"It was close," Alain admitted. "Drogo is my strongest Pokemon, but I don't travel as much as most trainers. I only have two Pokemon, actually. I spend most of my time in the lab with my uncle or doing fieldwork, though we do train a lot. I'll have to add more training time now- Drogo's going to be really annoyed when he wakes up."

"I wondered how your Charizard was so strong since you told me earlier that you worked in the lab," Gary thought out loud. "That makes sense now- if you're only focusing your training on one or two Pokemon, they'll be stronger than if you were trying to raise a full team in that situation."

Ash grinned at the Kalosian trainer. "I'd like to fight you again. Are you going to compete in the Indigo League?"

He shook his head. "No, I want to complete another study with my uncle on Mega Evolution before I start traveling and collecting badges for a League. But after that, I'll definitely take part in one or two."

"Good," Gary crossed his arms, still smirking. "I'd like to have a round at you once you take training seriously. You've got the makings of a kickass trainer."

Alain offered a small, but confident smile. "I'll take you up on that."

"Don't forget about me!" Luna piped up. She had a small, feline Pokemon in her arms, though the red and black cat looked annoyed with all the noise. "Once Cinder and I start training, we'll wipe the floor with all of you!"

Ash jokingly patted her head. "Sure thing, little cousin. Sure thing."

"Shut up! You're barely older than me!" She scowled. The girl puffed up her cheek in annoyance, but suddenly grinned. "I'll prove it to you. I'll catch a Pokemon by the end of today!"

Gary scoffed. "That's like the easiest thing a trainer can do around here. Do you have any idea how many Pidgey, Rattata, Weedle, and Caterpie there are? They're literally the easiest Pokemon to catch."

"A Pokemon is a Pokemon is a Pokemon," Luna waved his sarcastic tone away. She started to walk towards the woods, still carrying the cat in her arms. "Feel free to come witness the first capture of the greatest trainer ever!"

Ash did his best to hide a smile as he glanced at the other boys. "I'll tag along to make sure she doesn't stumble into a Beedrill nest or something. I'll talk to you guys later?"

"Sure thing," Gary shrugged. "Have fun babysitting."

Alain merely nodded, then Ash turned and followed Luna into the forest just beyond the lab. He knew that she was impossibly stubborn when she set her heart on something (that particular trait ran in the family) and that the best way to resolve the issue was simply to help her out.

Besides, his mother had told him to stay with her and he doubted she'd appreciate Luna coming back with a horde of Beedrill behind her.

That probably wouldn't end well.

* * *

"Next time you decide to run off and catch a Pokemon, make sure you actually have a pokeball with you, alright?" Ash laughed, shaking his head in amusement at his embarrassed cousin. After all the bravado she'd put up, saying she'd capture her first Pokemon by the end of the day, it was hilarious that she'd forgotten a rather key part of that process: having pokeballs in her possession.

After an hour of trekking through the woods, searching for just the right Pokemon to catch, they'd come across a rather large Pidgey who looked to be on the verge of evolving. Luna and her Litten had gotten into a fierce (for its level) battle with the bird and managed to overpower it after several minutes, but of course it was then that she realized she didn't bring a pokeball. The Pidgey had seized the opportunity to flee much to Luna's disappointment and Cinder's irritation.

"Shut up, I'm still going to catch something," Luna retorted, cheeks still flushed after admitting she had forgotten to bring the important capture devices. "Cinder and I can beat anything in those woods."

The Litten in question responded with a yawn. Ash inwardly snorted at the lazy cat- it looked like Cinder and Luna had very different personalities. She was energetic and upbeat, whilst he was lazy and easily annoyed. He hadn't been overly eager to battle, although he did get into it after the Pidgey hit him. But as soon as his trainer failed to capture it, Cinder practically flopped to the ground in exasperation and gave up on the fight.

Ash would give the cat this- he was surprisingly strong for his age. Cinder was quick and clever, with sharp claws and a talent for spitting fireballs with impressive accuracy. He had a feeling that once Luna really trained him, Cinder would be a truly powerful Pokemon.

His laziness could be well-deserved by that point. But that was still a while off.

Since they'd failed to capture a Pokemon (for now, his cousin insisted), Ash offered Luna to use one of his pokeballs. That meant going back to the house, but once they got there, the pair were roped into helping Delia and Sarah prepare dinner for the cookout.

Before Ash knew it, the whole afternoon had been spent setting up the event just outside the Professor's lab. Oak's lab assistance had set up a few long tables and lined them up so that everyone had a place to sit, while Gary and Alain helped to bring the food from the Ketchum residence all the way out to the lab once it was finished.

Oak, Kukui, and Sycamore joined them shortly to help prepare the cookout as soon as their meeting was over. The elder Professor also released Ash and Alain's Charizards once they were fully healed. Although the two orange dragons looked ready to pick a fight with each other as soon as they made eye contact, a surprise appearance and a daring glare from Oak's own Charizard shut them down almost instantly.

Ash would have bet his bottom dollar that even if Pyro and Drogo teamed up, the monstrosity of a fire type known as Ignotus would still wipe the floor with them.

For now.

Most of Ash and Gary's Pokemon were in attendance, as well as a few of Oak's like Ignotus and Arcanine (the latter of which brought a bunch of Growlithe puppies to give everyone love, wanted or unwanted). Luna's Litten was greedily eyeing the Pokemon food being prepared beside Arctus and Gary's Eevee. Ash inwardly smirked when he saw Jasmine just behind them, tail twitching and probably willing to use Agility to speed up if it meant she got the first bite.

Not that there was any shortage of food for the Pokemon. Oak's lab, which ran the entire corral and cared for dozens, if not hundreds of Pokemon, certainly didn't lack that particular resource.

Ash found himself drawn to a curious ice type that Alain released after he and Gary had set their teams loose. He called it a Bergmite- the only other Pokemon he currently had in his team. The sturdy little creature, which was roughly the size of an Ivysaur, vaguely reminded Ash of Paul's Turtwig or Grotle, although its body was almost entirely covered in thick ice save for its eyes, mouth, and underbelly. It was apparently a Kalos native and Ash would have been lying if he said he wasn't curious about how it fought. He'd put his money on a defensive battling style, but he didn't know enough about it to just assume that was correct.

After all, those spikes of ice on Bergmite's back were thick and sharp- Ash couldn't think of many creatures that would desire to be on the receiving end of weapons like those.

Before long, everyone had been seated and was digging into the _delicious_ cooking courtesy of Delia and Sarah. The sisters were experts at cooking for lots of people and they never disappointed with how incredible the food turned out. Lots of praise was offered to the chefs for, as usual, surpassing everyone's expectations.

It was a friendly little gathering. Once everyone had mostly eaten their fill, small talk started up and down the table on various subjects- from things as simple as the weather to the subject of Mega Evolution when Ash couldn't resist his own curiosity any longer.

Luna, who was eager to start traveling on her own journey, took the rare opportunity to ask three renowned Professors all she could about Pokemon training. Cinder had taken to sleeping on her lap, stomach full to the point of bulging while his trainer absently stroked his soft fur and borderline interrogated Oak and his former pupils.

"Hey, Professor Oak?" Luna piped.

"Mm?" Oak hummed as he took a drink, rather amused by her endless stream of questions. "Yes, my dear?"

"This might be a weird question, but…" Luna thought for a second before posing her query. "Are the Kanto legends real?"

"You'll have to specify. Kanto is an old land with many legends to its name."

"I mean the birds," she clarified. "Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Do they exist?"

Oak chewed on his lip thoughtfully for a few seconds. The mention of the legends had made him the focus of the entire table. Ash had once asked the same question of the Professor, but he liked hearing the answer whenever he could.

It was important.

"They did," Oak said at last. "But no longer. Unfortunately, the birds went extinct just a few years after I became a trainer. No one has seen any of their kind for nearly fifty years."

Luna's mouth fell open and her eyes grew wide. "What happened to them?"

"It's a long story."

"We've got time, gramps," Gary smirked.

Oak rolled his eyes and adjusted his char to make himself more comfortable. "Oh, very well. Since I obviously cannot escape…"

Laughter filled the air as Oak gathered his thoughts. Then the Professor began to recount his knowledge on the subject.

"To understand what happened to the legendary birds, you have to know their history and the history of the Kanto region itself. It is a widely accepted theory amongst scholars and scientists that the three species, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, are all derived from a common ancestor. That common ancestor used to be quite widespread throughout Kanto, but the evolution of various predators forced them to change. They evolved into differing entities based on where they chose to make their homes."

"Articuno's ancestors adapted to the icy regions of the mountains and the cold waters that surround the Seafoam Islands. By doing so, they gained the ability to wield ice type energy and thrived in freezing temperatures. Their beaks were shorter than the other two, but it's believed that short, strong beak evolved to break through the shells of Pokemon like Shellder and Cloyster."

"Zapdos' ancestors took to the lakes and rivers of northern Kanto and took up a niche there by preying on fish Pokemon and other water types. To better their chances of bringing food home to their chicks, they eventually evolved the ability to use electric type attacks and so solidified their place in the food chain. There's even a hypothesis that there was a branch family which never grew the ability to use electricity- you know that branch as Spearow and Fearow. It's strictly hypothetical since we obviously can't compare genetic material between them, but Fearow and Zapdos share similar traits like their long beaks."

"Moltres' ancestors took on a more drastic approach. With most of their relatives claiming niches in the Kanto mainland, they flew across the ocean until they reached the Sevii Islands. The islands were harsh, but isolated and ideal for a species to evolve in relative peace. They mostly settled by the volcano on Scorch Island, however, there's not much to eat there."

"I'm sure Moltres' ancestors tried the other islands, but they already had established species and Pokemon that evolve in isolated environments like that tend not to be the most giving since food is often limited. So this exiled group of birds were forced to remain on Scorch Island. In order to survive, they had to adapt to hunt down the fire types near the volcano and thrive in volcanic conditions."

"Eventually, they were able to wield fire like it was an extension of their own bodies to keep their flesh from being burned. Their beaks elongated to slip through the cracks in the volcanic rock and by doing so, they could drag out Slugma and Magcargo to eat. They don't hold much nutritional value, so we aren't quite sure if that was all they were eating, but it's the best hypothesis for why their beaks evolved into such a long, thin shape."

"Several millions of years passed and the first tribes of people arrived here from across the sea about ten thousand years ago. Of course, they weren't much of a threat to the birds then. They brought with them a new link in the food chain, but nothing more. The concept of hunting one of those three species would have been utter insanity."

"Then about a thousand years ago, things started to change. The civilized world was developing slowly, but surely, yet that came with a flux of violence between the various clans of people that had been established throughout Kanto. Wars were waged between the lords of individual lands for power and territory, and of course they used Pokemon- or Magical Creatures as they were called back then- to help them."

"The birds have, since the early days the Kanto region's human civilizations, been symbolic to us as figures of power and reverence. When they fully matured, their power was great enough to match the upper-echelon species we know well today- Dragonite, Tyranitar, Metagross, etc. In the Elder Days, to slay or befriend one of these birds was to gain instant notoriety."

"Many of the clans lived in fear of the birds, for their wrath was a terrible thing and they could be quite territorial when they reared their chicks. But a thousand years ago, roughly thirty years before the Indigo Empire was formed, a boy named Satoshi saved a Moltres chick. He was a mere child of the Island-hopping clans that lived in the Sevii Islands, but he became significant to Indigo nonetheless."

"No one knows exactly what the circumstances were, but whatever the case, the Moltres chick he saved gained Satoshi some favor with the then thriving population of Moltres on Scorch Island. He was gifted an egg from the same bird whose chick he rescued- since the birds usually only raised one egg at a time, twins were often rejected."

"Despite being so young, Satoshi knew the egg would be stolen from him had he returned home with it. Instead, he raised the egg in secret and when the chick hatched, he became the first person in history to befriend and tame one of these birds."

Oak took a long drink of water. Obviously his lengthy lecture was starting to dry out his mouth. "Since his family served their local warlord, Satoshi was forced to smuggle the chick with him when it came time to switch locations. How he managed to do so is beyond me, but he managed to hide the chick until they got to the safety of the next island. This pattern continued for nearly a year."

"With most Pokemon species, the hatchling would have been able to defend itself by then, but if there's one thing the birds had in common, it was that they grew slowly by comparison. My best guess for this is because they didn't undergo instantaneous metamorphosis- evolution- by this stage anymore. Pokemon that evolve tend to grow and mature faster, after all. A Moltres wouldn't be considered an adult until they reached ten years of age and they couldn't reproduce until they were fifteen."

"Satoshi hid the chick somehow until it could fly and get food for itself. It would probably have been about the size of a Pidgeotto by then, I expect. The clan Satoshi lived with considered Scorch Island to be their home island, so when Moltres was old enough to fend for itself, Satoshi left the chick there, where it would be safe, whenever he had to leave. By doing so, the chick was protected from greedy warlords and the savage battles fought between people of that time."

"A decade passed and Satoshi grew into a young man who served in the Warlord's ranks. His Moltres grew into a great and powerful bird, even though it wasn't yet fully matured. Their camp was attacked by the larger clan of Deepgreen Island one day and during the battle, Satoshi's father and Warlord Master were killed. When he was about to be slain, the Moltres he had raised appeared. Perhaps it was drawn to the sound of the battle."

"It shrieked when it saw its adopted parent about to be killed and bathed the enemy Warlord and his men in flames. Though they tried to fight back, none of the enemy had Pokemon or weapons strong enough to defeat such a powerful bird. Moltres was overcome with rage- after it slew the enemy warriors, it turned its attention to their ships, and thus the women and children. Satoshi cried out to his friend then and commanded Moltres to stop. And Moltres did- quelled of his wrath by Satoshi, the fire bird landed before his foster parent and remained loyally by his side."

"Thus the battle was won and Satoshi's reign began."

"The remnants of both clans were awed by Satoshi's ability to command one of the fire birds. They threw down their weapons and declared their allegiance to him, even though Satoshi himself had little desire to lead. But he was the only candidate and he wished for peace to spread throughout the islands."

"With Moltres at his side, Satoshi traveled to the other clans of the Sevii Islands and unified them. All of the remaining Warlords gave in to him without making a fuss- they practically worshipped him. The clans of the Sevii Islands had never possessed a warrior with a magical creature as powerful as Moltres. Satoshi's rule was unquestioned."

"The Sevii Islands were united, but the fighting was not over yet."

"Raiders from mainland Kanto, the clans of Fuchsia and Cinnabar, came to claim the archipelago as their own. They came with powerful magical creatures and more developed weapons. Satoshi and Moltres battled fiercely with the lord of Fuchsia, a revered ninja, and his Crobat. The battle was long and bloody, but finally they triumphed. Yet the fight had been nothing but a distraction, for Cinnabar's warriors took the chance to climb Mt. Ember and brazenly stole several Moltres eggs."

"Outraged, the fire birds began to bathe the island in their terrible fires. Ruin was only prevented when the exhausted Satoshi and Moltres met the birds in the sky and promised them retribution- and peace. The fire birds accepted their offer."

"Satoshi and Moltres, along with several other members of the fire bird colony, sailed across the ocean to Cinnabar first, where they attacked the island and recovered several of the stolen chicks. The Cinnabar clan surrendered to their might and Satoshi swept on from them to the Fuchsia clan. That was a more harrowing battle, but it too was won. The ninja clan could not fight well so soon after their leader's demise. With Fuchsia under his control, Satoshi reclaimed the last stolen chicks and sealed an alliance with the fire bird colony. They would fight for him if he would protect them from outside threats."

"Satoshi found the lands of Kanto in utter turmoil- clans constantly squabbled for dominance and land. To prevent further havoc, he found himself traveling north, conquering with Moltres by his side. His army grew with every battle, for he defeated each enemy clan handily and then absorbed them into his own forces."

"It was during this time that Satoshi learned about the Thunderbirds, Zapdos, and the Icewings, Articuno. But he didn't try to meet with them. He understood that what he had with Moltres was special, and didn't attempt to bring the other two species into the war. However, he soon found out that he was not the only one with a bird at their side."

"A princess in Cerulean had befriended an Articuno some time before and she met Satoshi when his army arrived at their doorstep. Of course, Satoshi wasn't a Warlord like any other. Before each battle, he'd ask for a chance to settle things peacefully before lives were lost. Up until then, not a single clan from Kanto's mainland had chosen to take the peaceful way out."

"Cerulean's princess did. It was unusual, because before then she was known for fighting insurmountable odds and still emerging victorious. No one is quite certain why she chose otherwise this time, but we can guess. It is a known fact that Satoshi and this princess fell in love as Kanto was further united under one banner."

"Satoshi finally conquered Viridian's clan with Moltres, the princess, and her Articuno by his side. With Viridian under his influence, Satoshi had full reign of Kanto and established Indigo Plateau. Its purpose was to be a place where he could watch over all of his empire, but it also served as a roost for the birds."

"Another decade passed. Satoshi, through extensive travel across Kanto, came to meet the colonies of Articuno and Zapdos that thrived in the northern reaches and the Seafoam Islands. They lived in peace under his rule, worshipped as figures of power by all who served Satoshi's cause."

"Satoshi married the Cerulean princess, Kasumi, during this time and together they raised a son. By then, Moltres was old enough to breed and raised a chick with one of the females of his species."

"But the peace did not last. To the west, a new country was rising, led by the fiercest Warlord in the world- the Dragon King of Blackthorn. This legendary warrior, renowned for his talent to tame dragons, saw Satoshi as a threat to his plans of conquest. He had already claimed Johto for himself and he now wanted Kanto."

"He attacked Kanto. Fearing the worst was yet to come, Satoshi sent his family into hiding while he gathered his armies to meet the Dragon King. Years of conflict built up into a climax on Mt. Silver, and in a single, bloody battle, the Dragon King was slain."

"But all was not well. During the battle, Satoshi was wounded and Moltres, his partner, was killed along with the Dragon King's Dragonite. Heartbroken and injured, Satoshi took the burning remnants of Moltres to the summit of Mt. Silver, where he supposedly met Ho-oh."

"Ho-oh took pity on the wounded man and used its sacred ashes to give Moltres a new body- one of fire that would burn forever. It was even said that Satoshi could still communicate with his old friend. From there on, the eternal flame became a symbol of Indigo Plateau."

"A few more years passed under Satoshi's reign until he had finally united both Kanto and Johto under a single banner. With the wars now completely brought to a halt, Satoshi had at last achieved his goal and was named the first Champion of Indigo. Moltres' chick took his father's place by Satoshi's side and bore his sire's great power once he was old enough to fight."

Oak paused for a little while. "Peace persisted for a time, but a hundred years after Satoshi's death, the regions reached a period of unrest. The birds had been thriving up until then, but sporadic civil wars forced their species to fight alongside the various clans in order to maintain some semblance of peace. It was a violent time that saw many of the birds killed. The three species gradually grew scarcer and scarcer."

"New Champions would be crowned after Satoshi as time went on. Most of the significant ones had one thing in common- a legendary bird was at their side. The last Champion to have one of the birds was the Champion from my days as a boy- Glacius. He specialized in ice types and the cornerstone of his team was an Articuno. Perhaps the very last Articuno in the world."

"When Glacius suddenly fell ill and passed away, his Articuno disappeared. And that was that. The last of the birds had vanished. No other Articuno, nor Zapdos, nor Moltres, had been seen since then."

Oak sighed, suddenly looking exhausted. "They're extinct now. I do wish they weren't, but they're all gone."

The mood at the table had grown solemn in the wake of his story. They all knew that extinction was a fact of life on earth, but just the knowledge that people had taken away three such incredible species of Pokemon from the world was sobering. It hadn't truly stopped, either- there were other species, like Lapras and Kangaskhan that were still teetering on the brink of oblivion.

People had a responsibility to clean up the mess they had made. Scientists, breeders, trainers…all of them. What had happened to the legendary birds never needed to pass, but it had. Now all they could do was keep it from happening to other species.

And later, as Ash helped them others clean up the tables and bring any leftovers back to the house, he wondered what it must have been like to see one of the birds in person.

Articuno, with its grand crest of ice and breath as cold as a blizzard.

Zapdos, whose shrieks summoned thunderstorms as fierce as hurricanes.

Moltres, who bathed the world in fire with each flap of its wings.

They had all been in these lands once. They had watched the best and worst times of the Kanto region. But no more.

Now they were just legends.

* * *

 **A/N: Goodness me, I've been so busy you guys! I've had a drastic increase in my homework load and its not even over yet! February just isn't my month apparently, lol. Anyhow, thanks for your patience! I know that I'm not cranking out these chapters as quickly as normal, but college and my job have to come first! Now to the review responses for Chapter 18!**

 **The Straight Elf: Hey, happy to see an update! I'm glad you managed to get this chapter out. I know you were having trouble forcing your way through the training (you handled it very well, by the way). And I also just wanted to say that I'm really impressed with how far you've come. I'm about halfway through my reread and it's easy to see the jump in quality. It started off pretty good but by this chapter I think it's definitely one of the best in the archive. I've been recommending it to people for a while now! Also, I just have to say that I absolutely loved Arcanine this chapter. Giant slobbery Arcanine is the best Arcanine in my opinion. Arctus is off to a strong start. You can already see the beginnings of the powerhouse he'll become. I'm really looking forward to seeing his growth. It's also fun seeing the starting points for some of the things we discussed in some of our messages! Good look at the limitations of training something like Eevee. Leaf's pissed. I like her attitude and frustration at being treated like she was helpless...she's not the type to sit down and take any crap so I'm eager to see how this experience is going to push her to grow. All in all, good chapter. I know how hard training chapters can be and you handled it well. At the very least things should be a bit smoother from here on out haha.**

 **-Always happy to hear from one of my** **favorite authors and thanks for the kind words! I still feel like that chapter could've been better, but it's done and we're past it- time to move on! You've got no idea how proud I am to hear you consider this story to be one of the best in the archive, although it definitely hasn't reached its climax! Slobbery Arcanine is always the best kind of Arcanine! The training for Ash's team for the Pallet Arc has been mostly completed, although there are a few things left for me to touch on! Yup, Leaf doesn't like being treated that way! She's a tough girl and she's not afraid to put the boys in their places when they need to be smacked around! Here's hoping that things go smoothly now!**

 **LoVeStAr14:** **Okay, so first off WOW! I binge read through the story and I am loving it! I started reading your stories because of your Fairy Tail ones, and then I saw your Pokemon and decided to give it a try. You have blown me away so far, I love how you give descriptions on things like how Pikachu's can only learn volt tackle as a Pichu, or how you describe how each pokemon in their own right has difficulty with some attacks. I like how Ash has to sometimes win his pokemon over, and how his relationships with Gary and Leaf are, and of course what's happening with Team Rocket. I'm excited to see what else Ash does during his pokemon journey and also how he deals with Team Rocket along the way.**

 **-Thanks! I know I really, really, REALLY need to update my Fairy Tail stories, but I've just lost my interest in the series for the time being. I needed to do something fresh and get a change of pace- I'm still keeping up with the manga (although the latest arc has not reignited my desire to write Fairy Tail like I hoped it would -_-) but I'm sure one of these days I'll get back to those stories and finish them. I worked way too hard on them to just leave them hanging like that, even if it takes some time. Anyhow, I'm glad you're liking this story! I feel like my writing has improved tons since I first started making fics on this website. When I came up with the idea for Challenger, I was largely inspired by The Straight Elf's story, Traveler (seriously guys, the writer I responded to first for this segment? If you haven't read his work yet, check it out. He is Legen- wait for it- dary!) and its realistic approach to the Pokemon world. So I approached it a bit differently and the result is what I hope will become a story just as epic as Elf's! It still has lots of work to match up to Traveler, but I'll do my best!**

 **shadragon: Nice going, are you going to add some more Pokemon or are your finished with Ash's team?**

 **-I am not finished with Ash's team yet, but I can't tell you who else will be added! I have to keep some things secret until they pop up! ;)**

 **RedAuraGuardian: When will pikachu be back? if you cant answer this, will he be in the indigo leauge as a prime pokemon?**

 **-I can't say when exactly Pikachu will return, but he will definitely be in the Indigo League!**

 **That's all for now, folks! As ever, please review and thanks so much for taking your time to read Challenger! The next chapter will be out as soon as possible! (You know, when college and work aren't literally squeezing out the life and creativity from my poor, overworked brain XD)**


	20. Unexpected Company

_Chapter Twenty: Unexpected Company_

Ash hummed a soft tune to himself as he worked some shampoo through Eevee's fur with his hands. She'd wanted a bath after he came out of the shower that morning and he was happy to oblige- she wouldn't be getting to bathe in nice, warm water again for a while once they hit the road. Ash planned on them leaving within the next three days or so. They'd lingered in Pallet for long enough and he was feeling restless- he longed for the road, the wilderness, and the freedoms that came with it.

Plus his team was starting to go stir crazy staying in the same place for so long.

But for now, most of the Pokemon in question were still asleep. Ash knew for a fact that Douse had taken to staying in the pond not far away from Professor Oak's lab- he was the only member of the team (besides Gyarados, of course) that wasn't crashing with the others. Pyro and Sobek were piled on top of each other as usual in the middle of his room. Jasmine and Cubchoo had robbed Ash of the blankets in the middle of the night and were buried somewhere under the pile hanging halfway off the bed.

Spectre was…somewhere. For all Ash knew, the ghost was camped in his own shadow.

Eevee was basking happily in the attention Ash was giving her and she chittered to him once she felt clean enough. He rinsed her off with a nozzle that was attached to the shower head- she loved that particular device. It could adjust the flow of water in different ways, though Eevee was most fond of the phase that just rained water on her gently.

Once she was cleansed of the soap, Ash brought out her most favorite device ever since she discovered it in Pallet Town- the blow dryer.

Delia Ketchum was officially Eevee's favorite human female for introducing that blessed creation to her. It blew toasty warm air over her fur and dried it out even better than when Ash toweled her off. The warmth spread over her whole body and felt _so good_ that when it ended, she didn't even care that she looked like a literal ball of fluff.

She purred as Ash switched on the blow dryer and began to direct the warm flow of air over her wet fur. Eevee closed her eyes and just enjoyed the warmth drying her head, back, and tail before she rolled over so her belly was exposed. Ash snorted with laughter at the utterly blissful look on her face.

Luna had seen Eevee do that once and squealed rather loudly about how adorable it was. Eevee had been too far gone to even care about the noise.

Ash made sure to run his hand through Eevee's fur while he directed the blow dryer- her fur coat wasn't nearly as thick as Arctus', but she liked it when her fur was dried as close to the base as possible. Since Ash didn't have a fur coat, he didn't question it.

He would've thought Eevee had fallen asleep if it weren't for the slight twitches that might have been a half-hearted attempt at wagging her tail. Once he was sure that she was completely dry, he reluctantly turned it off- his mother had warned him about using it for too long.

Plus he was certain that slightly burnt fur would only encourage Eevee to fire a Shadow Ball at him.

Eevee realized that she was no longer being dried off and whined at Ash. He felt bad, but didn't turn it back on- just smiled apologetically. "Sorry girl, but you know what mom said about your fur getting burnt, right?"

She huffed and rolled over back to her paws. She remembered well enough, but it didn't make her stop wishing that the blow dryer could be used on her forever without side effects. Eevee perked up once pulled out a simple brush and began to work on her fluffed-up fur coat.

"You're so spoiled," he laughed when Eevee began to purr again. She only flicked her tail to confirm that statement.

She was spoiled and she loved it.

Ash was really proud of her. It was hard to believe that this was the same, angry little creature he'd adopted into his team back at Bill's house over four months ago. Eevee had actively attacked him back then- now he was brushing her fur as she dozed in a state of semi-consciousness.

Several minutes of brushing later, Ash was satisfied that Eevee's coat was as clean as he could possibly get it. He set the brush aside and scratched a spot beneath her chin, drawing a pleased noise from her. "Good as new."

She flicked her tail and sat up in his lap. Ash smiled and brought both hands up to rub her ears. "What do you think, girl? Ready to go for the day?"

Eevee chittered softly, looking at him with those chocolate brown eyes.

Ash was suddenly blinded by a surge of intense white light, which startled him so much that he almost recoiled from Eevee. He squinted against the pulsing waves of energy, which emanated from her body as it shifted and changed.

Right there in his lap, Eevee evolved.

He watched as her body grew in size until she was eye-level with him. The bushy fur coat covering her body thinned and shortened, though her tail grew several times longer. Close to the tip, it split into two ends. Her head remained short, but the features sharpened somewhat and her ears developed a pair furry tufts beneath them. Her legs grew longer, yet they remained lithe like the rest of her body.

The evolutionary light gently burst away from her body, revealing a red jewel that had formed on her forehead. Her eyes had changed from the chocolate brown he was familiar with- instead, her pupils were silver-white and the sclera had become a deep purple. Her fur coat had also changed from brown to a soft lavender shade.

When she chittered this time, the sound was lighter and more elegant than before; like a musical note.

Ash could only laugh to express his surprise and delight- Eevee had just evolved into an Espeon!

"You're amazing, you know that?"

Her pronged tail tip flicked in amusement. She was plenty aware of how amazing she was. Ash ran his hand over the fur between her ears and ruffled the fox-like appendages. As he did so, his fingers almost brushed the red gem on her forehead and she ducked slightly to ensure he did not touch it.

Ash noticed the movement and raised an eyebrow. "No touching the jewel?"

She merely nodded and let out a soft cry. Ash smiled at her. "I'll be more careful from now on. Thanks for telling me, girl. How do you feel?"

Eev- Espeon stood up on her long, elegant legs and stepped out of his lap to circle around, inspecting herself with eyes that were much sharper than those she had prior to evolution. The silvery irises had an almost ethereal glow to them and her tail swished in gentle waves from side to side. She paused for a moment and Ash could practically feel power building up from her to the point that the jewel atop her head glowed briefly.

She let out another soft cry, seemingly reassuring Ash that she was find- it would probably take some time for her to truly get used to her new form, but for now she was content.

"Well, that's good," he told her, standing up. "Shall we wake up the others? Imagine the looks on their faces when they see you've evolved while they were asleep!"

Her tail tips twitched, amused. Espeon merely padded back to Ash's side and rubbed her head against his leg. Her spine arched as he leaned down to pet her and the lithe body wound around his legs like a cat.

He grinned, unable to resist the opportunity to joke with her a bit more. "I should start giving everyone that spa treatment. Maybe they'll all start evolving, too."

Espeon rolled her eyes and only chittered to her trainer. Ash was certainly welcome to try, but she knew that certainly wouldn't work for the others.

Was Spectre even _capable_ of bathing?

She filed that thought away for later. Perhaps she would figure it out another time, but it wasn't like the bathing habits- or lack thereof- of ghosts were of particular interest to her. No, she was more interested in her new body and what could be done in this form.

She had reached a peak as Eevee in the last few weeks. Somehow, she knew instinctively that she would be left behind the others if she chose to remain in that form. It was simply a matter of what appearance she wished to take and when. But she'd known what she wanted- she did not want to wield the same power as any of her other teammates. Pyro could use flame, Douse water, Sobek the darkness- even Pikachu, absent as he was, could fight with electricity and would when he returned to them.

She would not be a carbon copy of someone else, dammit.

After discarding any thoughts of taking on the abilities of her other teammates, she'd considered the remaining options available to her- psychic, grass, ice, and fairy. She had admired the strength of the ice-Eeveelution who walked with the powerful blonde trainer several months back, but she felt somewhat the same about that as she had with her other teammates. It was a power someone else wielded. Though, she reflected, Arctus wielded that power too- but the cub was new to their team and still trying to find his place in it.

She would _not_ become the fairy. Her personality was far too sarcastic and elegant to be one of those go-lucky, constantly happy and frolicking creatures.

She'd at last been torn between the psychic and the grass. Both options suited her- elegant, beautiful, and dangerous, but in different ways. Her decision had been made by the fact that she was not overly fond of physical brawls. Oh, she could do it, but she was more skilled at blasting enemies from a distance- the psychic was more adapted to that aspect. The grass could do it too, but not as well. Her decision made, she'd begun to build up the necessary energy in her body for evolution.

In fact, she'd had it built up for the last few days, but the time never seemed right to let it go. Why the simple peace following her bath courtesy of Ash felt right was a mystery to her, but she knew that she was happy and that was good enough.

Now she was Espeon and she intended to make certain that the dragon and his cohorts would not forget that she was not a lesser fighter than they.

But perhaps it would be a good idea to grasp what she was capable of first.

That thought came when she let her power build up a bit too much in the bathroom for a moment, causing a vase on the bathroom sink to float several feet into the air. Ash gasped, startling her, and she dropped it. Fortunately, he managed to catch the pottery before it could shatter on the floor.

He let out a relieved breath after carefully placing the vase back where it belonged. "Right, let's get you to the training fields now and we can surprise the others later. I don't think the house is a good place to test out psychic powers."

She was, in fact, rather inclined to agree with him.

* * *

It was only nine in the morning when they reached the training grounds they'd been working at for the last month or so. Ash had come out in a pair of simple dark wind pants, a black tee and sneakers for this. The ground was still slightly damp with morning dew, but it was quickly drying up under the heat of the sun.

Espeon hadn't been keep about the moisture in the grass, but she relented, knowing that her paws would dry as they worked.

They reached the spot with craggy rocks that, not long ago, had been where Ignotus put Ash and his team in their place. She pushed away any thoughts of the irritating dragon and looked at her trainer, waiting patiently for his commands.

Ash chewed his lip thoughtfully. He'd brought his Pokedex and brushed up on his knowledge of Espeon as a species on the way here, but honestly he had no idea where to begin with this. Psychics were very different from the usual fighters he dealt with. They wielded a strange energy that only Spectre could match for its peculiarity.

But when in doubt, start at the beginning.

"Let's just try and grasp what you can do, okay?" Ash started. Espeon nodded- that was probably wise instead of asking her to do something specific right off the bat. She knew how to use her psychic powers instinctively, but she lacked the control that experience would bring.

"Before we even touch on your psychic abilities, let's see how the more familiar ones are," he continued. "That'll help you get more comfortable in your new form, too. So let's try a favorite of yours first, shall we?"

He jabbed his finger at one of the larger boulders about thirty feet away. "Shadow Ball."

Espeon did as she was asked and formed the sphere of ghostly energy, albeit more slowly than normal. As a normal type, it hadn't really bothered her, but she felt a bit uneasy wielding ghost type energy now as a psychic. Espeon pushed her discomfort down- she would get over it in time, she was sure.

The sphere was noticeably larger and more intense than any she'd created as Eevee. Espeon fired the Shadow Ball at her target and as soon as it made contact, the move exploded in a blast of ominous energy.

They stared at the result in silence for a moment. Before, she would've broken the stone into several pieces or at least cracked it all over. There wasn't anything left this time- just smoking rubble.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side, girl," Ash said, but he was grinning from ear to ear. Eevee's Shadow Balls had always been nasty things, but this would be mortifying.

Oh, what he wouldn't give to see the others' faces when they realized that irritating their teammate would now result in a bit more than an unpleasant sting.

Espeon was rather pleased by how much damage she'd done. Obviously that wouldn't vaporize a Pokemon- perish the thought- but she highly doubted that many of the opponents they'd battled in the past would be capable of just shaking it off. Cynthia's Garchomp and Glaceon were probably exceptions, to name a few.

But she was pretty sure most of the Gym Leaders they'd battled before would get a nasty shock when their Pokemon were obliterated by her newfound might.

Ash was already plotting Koga's demise.

They experimented with her other techniques for a short while until Espeon had a good grasp on her power and Ash felt comfortable assessing any psychic abilities she would soon display- as expected, both her energy and physical attacks had improved, but the former much more so than the latter. Her Iron Tail, Bite, and Quick Attacks were strong, but they paled in comparison to the ridiculously powerful Shadow Ball and Swift attacks she had at her disposal now.

"Let's try some psychic stuff now, Eev- Espeon," he caught himself. That was going to take some getting used to. Most of his team had nicknames that didn't change throughout evolution, but he had to change how he addressed her since she'd evolved.

He pulled out his Pokedex again and looked through some of the easiest psychic moves that Espeon could learn naturally. "Confusion looks like an easy one. All it really consists of is hitting something with raw psychic energy."

Espeon merely nodded and fixed her eyes on a nearby boulder that was roughly the same size as Gary's Blastoise. Concentrating hard, she focused up the psychic energy in the gem atop her head on instinct. Once she had it built to a point that she felt was sufficient, she tried to direct it towards the boulder and let it loose.

Ash yelped as a wave of psychic energy ripped over the rugged terrain and slammed into its target with a completely overpowered impact. The rock literally shattered and the force continued on to slam into the nearby cliff face. He paled when several chunks began to fall off the rock wall and took a few steps back despite being a safe distance away.

Only when the pieces of rock ceased to fall did Ash let out a breath and offer Espeon an impressed look. "That was great, but let's avoid hitting the cliff."

She chittered agreement. Espeon had thought that she'd built up a level of energy that would be just enough to destroy the boulder, not blow it into oblivion. Now at least she had a point of reference for what was too much and too little. She lowered the output during the second shot and fired it off at the next target, a similarly sized rock to the first.

This time the rock only cracked. Espeon upped the power a bit and tried again.

The third time damaged her new target to the point that it collapsed into rubble. It felt more comfortable to use it at that output as well, so Espeon decided that it was probably how an average Confusion attack would feel.

Ash was satisfied by the result as well. "Let's keep working on that before we try out any other psychic moves. I want you comfortable with it before then so we don't cause any accidents. We'll perfect Confusion first and start working on stuff like Psybeam and Psychic next, okay? Don't worry, girl- you'll get to put the boys in their place before too long, I promise. Let's get back to work for now."

Espeon's ears perked up in delight and she rubbed her face against his leg. Her trainer knew just what to say to encourage her to work hard.

He certainly didn't object to his team beating each other senseless as long as there was a point to it.

* * *

"Mom, I'm back!" Ash called as he walked inside, letting Espeon in before he closed the door behind them. They'd been gone for just an hour, but he knew the others would be waking up soon. He could smell breakfast in the air and inwardly drooled.

"Welcome back! How was…oh?" Delia had glanced out of the kitchen to greet her son only to see the Espeon sitting at his feet. She stared at the psychic type for a few seconds before it clicked and she smiled widely. "Well, hello there, _Espeon_."

Ash smiled largely and glanced down at his newly-evolved partner. "She decided to surprise me this morning after her bath. I took her out alone so that we could practice her psychic abilities."

"How'd that go?" Delia walked over and knelt to caress the furry tufts beneath Espeon's ears. "Psychic moves are tricky for beginners."

"I think we'll be okay," he admitted. "She got a good hold on Confusion after the first few tries. With a bit more practice, I think she'll be a pro in no time."

Espeon puffed out her chest in pride. She was amazing and she knew it.

Delia laughed and stood up. "Well I think I'll make her something special for breakfast then. I know that psychics have a liking for Payapa berries and we've got some growing in the garden. I'll try crushing and mixing them in with her food. You can bring some with you if she likes them."

"Thanks, mom," he said graciously. "Is anyone else awake yet?"

"Sarah and Luna are still in bed. Your Pokemon haven't made any noise, so I'm assuming they're still asleep, as well. I just woke up to start breakfast."

"I'll go wake up the others, then," Ash decided.

He made his way upstairs, first going to his own room to wake his team up. Ash opened up the door and peered inside, amused by the realization that not much had changed since they left to train. The only difference was that his pile of blankets had left the bed completely and ended up in a heap on the floor.

Ash knocked on the open door sharply to stir his sleepy team. "Alright you lot, rise and shine!"

Pyro lifted his head up upon hearing his trainer's call, though Sobek only cracked one eye and growled lazily. Ash watched in amusement as the blankets on his floor flailed wildly for a few seconds before two heads poked out of it- both blue and white, one with fur and one with scales.

His humor grew as the two heads tilted simultaneously as they noticed the apparent stranger sitting by Ash's feet. Sobek only looked fractionally curious, (he probably didn't consider Espeon a threat since he was naturally immune to psychic energy) but it was Pyro's narrowed eyes and rumbling growl that made him spill the beans.

"Easy, Pyro. Don't you recognize Eevee?" Ash teased.

The Charizard's growl turned into a strangled sound of surprise as he blinked owlishly at the smug psychic. Espeon's tail tips twitched in amusement at the dragon's surprise, but she was startled as Jasmine rushed towards her…

…and smacked into the wall.

Ash and his team stared as the Dratini squealed in pained surprise, stunned from the unexpected impact. Espeon let out a confused noise, causing Jasmine to turn her head towards her friend, but when she leaned forward she was hesitant. It was as though she couldn't gauge the distance between her and Espeon properly.

Was she just dazed from hitting the wall? But that wouldn't explain why she'd completely missed Espeon in the first place and hit the wall in the first place.

"You okay, Jasmine?" Ash asked.

The Dratini trilled lowly- she sounded uncertain. Ash knelt to study her for anything that looked out of place and realized that her emerald eyes had fogged over with a glassy silver. Her scales looked a lot paler, too.

Was she sick?

"Jasmine, do you feel sick in any way?" He queried.

She shook her head, but made the movement rather gingerly- as if she wasn't sure she wouldn't hit something else. Ash pursed his lips out of concern. If she didn't feel sick, then what was this? He hoped Professor Oak would have an answer. "Let's eat, then we'll go to the lab. I need to get you checked out."

She trilled again as Espeon approached her, realizing that her friend's senses weren't really up to par this morning. Jasmine cooed gratefully as Espeon gently pressed her head against the small dragon, rubbing affectionately to greet her.

Arctus followed more slowly. He and Espeon had a friendly relationship, but he wasn't quite as close to her as Jasmine was. More often than not, the cub was attached at the hip to Douse, but Espeon liked that more than she would've liked him joining Pyro or Sobek.

Her opinion of the overgrown lizards was still rather low.

Pyro eventually got up (much to Sobek's displeasure) and after shaking the sleepiness from his body, approached Espeon for his turn. While he did that, Ash glanced around the room. "Has anyone seen Spectre?"

Sobek, who was now sprawled onto his belly in an epic display of laziness, let out a half-hearted sound that might've been his equivalent of a careless shrug.

Ash frowned. Spectre definitely wasn't in the house, then. He would've been one of the first to come and greet Espeon in her new form, or at least instigate some sort of prank.

Maybe he was with Douse in the forest?

* * *

After a rather eventful breakfast where Luna and Sarah both gushed over Espeon's new appearance, Ash and his cousin walked towards the lab. He had placed Jasmine in her Safari Ball after she ate (and a worryingly small amount at that, though she drank as much as always) and decided to bring her straight to Professor Oak.

Luna had released Cinder, who was reluctantly walking beside her when his trainer declined carrying him everywhere. He needed to exercise, even if he didn't necessarily enjoy it.

It was slightly more tolerable since Espeon and Arctus were walking with them. Pyro had flown ahead to find Douse, Sobek had returned to his pokeball out of laziness, and Spectre was still nowhere to be found.

He wasn't really worried about the ghost, just the trouble he'd get into.

"I am going to capture a Pokemon today, I'm telling you!" Luna insisted.

Ash smirked. "You can't forget the pokeball this time."

"Ugh, it was a beginner's mistake!" She pouted, annoyed. "I won't do it again."

He chuckled a bit. Despite his concern over Jasmine, poking fun at his cousin was as entertaining as ever.

As soon as they walked into the lab, they found Professor Oak reading over some papers on his way from one end of the building to the other. Ash called to get his attention and hurried over to him.

"Good morning, you two," Oak greeted. "And who do we have here?"

He'd noticed Espeon and judging from the knowing glint in his eyes, Ash guessed that Oak already knew who she was. But he decided to humor the man. "Eevee evolved this morning."

"Congratulations," he smiled at the psychic type, who tilted her chin up proudly. "Did you come for assistance with her? I believe this is your first time training a psychic type."

"Actually, we were training earlier this morning," Ash replied. "I need to ask you something about Jasmine."

"Your Dratini, yes? What seems to be the matter?"

Ash released Jasmine then and the little dragon trilled nervously until Espeon cooed to her, assuring her friend that everything was alright. Arctus padded over as well and reared up to press his small, black nose against Jasmine's white scales. The presence of her friends calmed the Dratini in just a few moments.

Ash told him what he'd noticed that morning- her apparent lack of depth perception and inability to eat very much, but the Professor's face cleared in understanding as he took in the paling scales and silvering eyes.

"Don't worry, Ash," Oak reassured him, kneeling to inspect the small dragon. He whistled slightly to encourage her to face him, which she did after a moment's hesitation. She was obviously still nervous from being unable to see very well. "It's quite natural what's going on. She isn't ill- she's beginning a shedding cycle."

His shoulders sagged with relief. "Oh, okay. But why didn't she eat as much?"

"Believe me, if your skin was starting to tighten up around you, you wouldn't eat much, either," the Professor chuckled. He gently set one hand on the scales under Jasmine's chin, stroking them to keep the currently blinded Dratini calm while he inspected her closely. "I think this is the first time I've gotten a good look at her since you introduced us through that video phone in Fuchsia. I'd assumed back then that she was probably about five years old based on her size, but it's only been two months since her last shed. I think it's safe to say she's six years old, or perhaps close to that. It's usually between their sixth and seventh year that Dratini evolve into Dragonair."

He saw Ash's eyes brighten in excitement and was quick to warn him. "Remember what I told you? As she gets closer to evolving, her shedding rate will increase dramatically. She won't be able to train at all during that time. And while I don't think she's going to evolve anytime soon, she can't train during or after a shed until her scales harden once more."

He understood, but it didn't dampen his excitement. If Jasmine was as close to evolving as the Professor suggested, that meant he could possibly have a Dragonair by the time the Indigo League came around. Jasmine was strong already, but once she evolved…

"You know, I read somewhere that hyper-salivation is an indication of madness," Luna said innocently. Ash only grinned widely at her, unabashed.

"You were planning on leaving in the next few days, were you not?" Oak queried the boy. When Ash nodded, he went on. "You may consider leaving her here until she finishes shedding."

Ash chewed his lip for a moment. "I'm not sure. I mean, I don't want to leave any of my team here on their own, but Jasmine's really nervous right now because she can't see."

"She wouldn't be on her own," Oak reassured him. "I'd also like to ask if you could leave Sobek with me for a short time."

He raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"As I understand it, you had some concerns about Sobek's neck being under pressure after he evolved? I got in touch with a colleague of mine in Unova who has studied Krookodile before. There isn't a lot of data on the subject since most Krookodile are…disagreeable at the best of times, but I think your concerns are valid. Nothing that should cause you problems beyond some sore muscles for now, but I still wouldn't risk it."

"I'd like to take an X-ray of his neck and do a short study on Sobek," Oak continued. "By doing so, I think I can help you fix any current and future problems with his neck and supply useful data for researchers and trainers working with Krookodile as a species."

Ash considered that. Sobek's neck hadn't cramped too badly lately, but there were still mornings where he'd wake up more irritable than normal- those were days when his neck was hurting. He could tell when the Krookodile was having a day like that. Instead of an irritated glare in the mornings, he'd get an incensed snapping of jaws. Sobek would never hurt him, but he made sure Ash knew when he wasn't feeling good.

And as loathe as he was to leave Sobek behind, he was more so unwilling to risk his friend's health for a couple of weeks without his company.

"I'll have to explain it to Sobek," Ash answered. "And I'd like to be there for the X-ray so he isn't disturbed too much, but I think he'll be okay with it."

"Thank you, my boy," Oak said gratefully. "I know you asked me about this initially, but the lack of information on Krookodile physiology is rather infuriating for me. This could help many people get around that exceptionally bad temper of theirs."

Ash smirked. He knew firsthand how nasty that temper could be.

"I guess that settles that," he remarked. "I'll take Arctus with me, but I'll still have a free slot available. It's going to be weird only having five members of my team with me again."

Oak pursed his lips. "About that…"

"Hm?"

"Well, I happen to be in possession of the Rhydon you captured at my second lab with Daisy."

Ash's eyebrows rose up. "Wait, still? Didn't you pass it on to the League?"

Oak shook his head. "They asked me to hold onto it until they could find a willing and able trainer, but so far no one has come up. I understand that you had some trouble with Rhydon when you captured it, but several members of your team have fully evolved now and from what I've seen, they should be plenty capable of keeping it in check. What do you think?"

He was silent for a time. Honestly, Ash wasn't sure what to think. He'd assumed that Rhydon had gone to a more capable trainer than he was a long time ago, but he never imagined he'd meet it again. The last time he'd seen the rock type, it had demolished a cliff that nearly killed him and Eevee until Pyro saved them. There was no denying that Rhydon was powerful- if he could train it, it would be a real powerhouse. Moreover, it would be a solid defensive fighter.

Of course, Spectre was a defensive fighter as well, but his specialty was in espionage more than tanking hits. Rhydon had shrugged off dozens of attacks until Pyro had caught it and Aerodactyl by surprise. No Pokemon he currently possessed would be capable of doing the same thing.

But still…

"I need to meet it," he said at last. "With the rest of my team to make sure there won't be any serious problems."

Oak nodded. "I think that would be wise. Give it a chance and see how things go. If it doesn't work out, Rhydon will simply remain here until the League finds a trainer for it."

"Okay," Ash sighed. This hadn't been a part of his plan for today, but it wasn't totally unwelcome. If Rhydon ended up picking a fight, it would give him a chance to test Espeon's capabilities.

Yeah. It was just the same Rhydon that blew apart a cliff and took on his entire team almost single-handedly. What could go wrong?

* * *

There were a hundred different things that could go wrong here.

Ash had gathered his team a fair distance from the lab (with the exception of Jasmine given her currently inhibited vision) after receiving the Ultra Ball containing Rhydon from Professor Oak. Luna, Gary, and Alain had joined them since Oak and the other Professors had another meeting at the current time.

Knowing Rhydon's destructive capabilities, he'd been reluctant at first to let Luna get close until Gary and Alain volunteered to spot them. He was confident that his team could handle the powerful rock type, but Ash was more at ease seeing Blastoise and Drogo standing behind their trainers, ready to protect them and Luna in case Rhydon launched a widespread attack.

Before releasing it though, Ash flipped open his Pokedex to look up Rhydon's data. He had never checked on its data since he'd assumed he would never see it again, but now he was grateful that he had the information.

Gary peered over his shoulder to look at the device in Ash's hands. "So, what are we dealing with?"

"Let's find out," he replied. Ash tapped the data file for the Rhydon contained in its Ultra Ball and let the Pokedex give its usual analysis.

 _Rhydon, the Drill Pokemon. The armor-like hide covering its body is capable of withstanding temperatures of over 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing it to move through molten rock. Its tail can shatter thick boulders and its horn can crush even uncut diamonds. Shortly after evolving, male Rhydon are evicted from their herds and travel mountainous regions in search of a territory to claim as their own._

 _This Rhydon is male and knows the moves: Horn Attack, Horn Drill, Stomp, Rock Blast, Bulldoze, Take Down, Rock Smash, Drill Run, Stone Edge, Earthquake, Hammer Arm, Megahorn, and Metal Burst. Its ability is Rock Head, which allows Rhydon to negate recoil damage from moves like Take Down and Head Smash._

Gary whistled. "Damn."

"It doesn't look like Rhydon has any defensive techniques," Alain noted. "Although its armor will be a major hindrance on its own. How are you going to deal with it?"

Ash was thinking about it. Rhydon hadn't used nearly this many moves the last time he'd fought it. It had only used Earthquake, Stone Edge, Rock Smash, and Megahorn during that battle. Of course, he'd suspected that it was able to use Horn Drill- all Rhydon could- and Horn Attack or Stomp were little more than instinct, but he hadn't anticipated so many different moves. What even was Metal Burst?

He looked that up after a second and found out. Metal Burst was a countering technique where the user absorbed damage from an incoming attack, concentrated it into a ball of enhanced steel-type energy, and fired it back. Rhydon hadn't tried using it during their battle, which made Ash wonder if it was simply arrogant or if it didn't like using the technique.

"It's a close range fighter," Ash said at last. "I think Douse can take it one-on-one, but I want Espeon to go first in case Rhydon goes on the offensive. She's better at long-range moves and it's a good chance for her to get used to using psychic attacks in battle."

Pyro growled, but Ash gave his starter a look. "I know you beat Rhydon last time, but I want the rest of the team to be able to handle it as well, okay? If something goes wrong, I know you can take it on."

The Charizard grunted, nostrils flaring as he eyed the Ultra Ball in Ash's hand with disdain. He wasn't overly fond of this particular rock type.

Ash sighed and nodded to Espeon. "Come on. Douse, you're with us as well. The rest of you stay back."

He took the two members of his team a fair distance from the onlookers and pocketed his Pokedex, tightly clenching the Ultra Ball in his hand. Ash had a feeling that Rhydon was really going to give him a piece of its mind. Professor Oak had told him that Rhydon hadn't misbehaved much, but it wasn't exactly social and warned off any other Pokemon who got close to it.

All he had to do was convince it to come with him and the Pokemon who had knocked it out.

Lovely.

Ash took a deep breath and enlarged the yellow and black capture device in his hand. He gave Espeon and Douse a glance each. "Stay calm, but get ready. I'm not expecting sunshine and rainbows here."

They merely nodded, already tense. Ash hurled the Ultra Ball high into the air, letting Rhydon loose from about the same distance as the opposite end of a battlefield.

The rock type's large ears, which were a sign of its distant relation to the Nidoking family, twitched as it took in its surroundings. It flexed its arms, stretching out any stiffness caused by the heavy armor and let its tail swish slowly from side to side. With a flare of its nostrils, it sucked in a breath of air to catch any nearby scents.

One scent stood out in particular- that being the one emanating from the human just a short distance away from it.

Ash waited tensely for Rhydon's reaction, but he was doing his best to look relaxed. It wouldn't improve the rock type's opinion of him if he was as stiff as a board during their first non-violent interaction. He could practically see the gears turning in Rhydon's head as it stared at him with those dark red eyes. It was trying to place his face, recall where it'd seen Ash before.

"Hello, Rhydon," Ash began. "How are you?"

Rhydon merely snorted. It wasn't interested in having a conversation right now. It inspected the two Pokemon flanking the boy, and although they were vaguely familiar, it couldn't place them in its memory.

The group of humans a fair distance further away were also watching Rhydon, but its attention was gathered by the Charizard standing behind the female human- the one that glared at Rhydon as though it was familiar with it.

It took the better part of a minute, but it finally clicked in Rhydon's head.

Ash tensed as Rhydon's tail slammed against the ground the same moment that the beast of a rock type roared angrily. It had recognized Pyro and put together that Ash was the same trainer who had captured it.

Rhydon clenched its blunt claws and bared strong, sharp teeth. It was not going to tolerate the Charizard being in its presence, nor these trespassers who had taken it from its territory.

"Rhydon, wait!" Ash tried desperately, but he mentally cursed when he saw the behemoth lower its head and begin to charge. "Espeon, use Double Team! Force Rhydon away with Confusion."

She leapt into action at his command, rushing towards Rhydon with a lithe grace to her steps. Espeon was quickly surrounded by clones of herself, which darted in different directions and made Rhydon slow to a stop as it tried to pick out a target. The angry rock type charged several copies, missing each time and getting blindsided by huge waves of psychic force for its trouble.

Espeon let more psychic power build up in the gem on her forehead for a longer duration following her latest attack and this time rushed up so that she was right in Rhydon's face. When she let the Confusion loose, it carried enough force to actually lift Rhydon off its feet and slam it into the ground over five meters away.

Rhydon roared in fury as it sat up and smashed one fist into the ground, triggering a Stone Edge attack. Pointed rocks began to jut out of the earth, each targeting an Espeon clone. Most missed, but a few hit their mark and made the clones disappear. However, the real Espeon remained elusive and only caused Rhydon to become more frustrated.

It rose to its feet and crouched, tensing its muscles for a wide-range attack that Ash recognized all too well. He remembered exactly what happened the last time Rhydon did that, but he waited patiently, heart hammering in his chest.

The instant Rhydon jumped to use Earthquake, he snapped. "Shadow Ball! Knock it down!"

Espeon put on a burst of speed with Quick Attack and jumped above Rhydon before it even reached the peak of its own leap. She had the ghost type attack charged fully as it comprehended that its target was in the air and fired it not a moment later.

The Shadow Ball caught Rhydon under the chin, at just the right angle so that when it exploded in a burst of black energy, it caused Rhydon to reel backwards and land harshly on the back of its head. The force of the blast combined with its own weight forced Rhydon back several feet, digging a deep trench in the ground.

Espeon landed with ease and began to dart around again, creating new clones to make up for the ones that had been lost. She kept an eye on Rhydon, who was snarling with rage at this point as it struggled to rise again.

Before the fight could go on any longer, Ash whistled sharply. "Espeon, come back!"

He watched as the Double Team disappeared, then the real Espeon came padding back to his side, where she sat down and watched Rhydon again.

The rock type was glaring at her, but it didn't immediately go on the offensive again. Rather, it got up and shifted its red gaze onto Ash, who had stopped the fight.

"Are you going to listen now?" Ash asked Rhydon calmly. The behemoth snorted imperiously, but did not attempt to renew its assault. Ash took that as a good thing and went on. "Right, here's the deal; I captured you. I know you're not happy about that, but I think you might be interested in what I can offer. My team and I are training to be the strongest fighters in the world and I think you've got what it takes to keep up with us."

He let that sink in for a few moments, though Rhydon continued to glare and its tail swished back and forth at a steady rate. "I can help train you into a really powerful fighter. We'll be traveling to lots of different places and battling the strongest opponents we can find. How about it? Interested?"

The growl that answered him didn't promise much, but Ash thought he could see Rhydon considering the offer. The temptation of power and harsh battles were good, but it also considered the company it would have to keep. Rhydon's eyes slid past the boy to Espeon and the Charizard further back. The psychic looked indifferent, albeit slightly wary, but the fire type was just a breath away from being openly hostile.

Ash knew that Rhydon wasn't going to be a social butterfly, but he did his best to reassure it. "I'm not going to make you get along with the rest of the team, but they will be training with you. All I'm asking is that you don't attack them outside of practice battles, alright? Do that and I think we'll get along fine. They'll help make you stronger, I promise."

Rhydon was not so sure. During their first encounter, it knew that it probably would have flattened the kid and his team if the Charizard hadn't evolved out of nowhere and surprised it. This time around, things were a bit different- it had been a brief one-on-one fight, but Rhydon had been on the defensive most of the time. Admittedly, Espeon hadn't blown it away with her power, but there was a surety to the way she moved and a strength that hadn't been there the last time they fought.

Maybe it was worth a shot…

Besides, if Rhydon still wasn't impressed later, it could always leave. Even though Ash didn't say it out loud, the rock type could tell that his offer was just that- an offer. Not an order. Oh, it sounded enough like an order to keep his attention on the brat who had the _brass balls_ to tell Rhydon what to do, but it was only a question in the end. Was Rhydon interested in getting stronger?

There was only one answer to that question.

Rhydon eased its defensive stance and grunted, slowly nodding its massive skull. Ash inwardly sighed in relief. If Rhydon had picked another fight, he knew he'd have had to send in Espeon and Douse to put it down. Espeon had given Rhydon a run for its money, but its hide was too ridiculously thick to be taken down by Confusions and Shadow Balls. Not that he would tell either Espeon or Rhydon that particular fact.

"Good," Ash said. "I'm going to return you for now, but I'll let you out again later to officially meet the team and train. Do you understand?"

Rhydon grunted again, rolling one of its massive shoulders carelessly. It didn't care- it wasn't in the mood to fraternize and it wasn't hungry. It had eaten its fair share of Pokemon food last week when Oak offered. Technically, Rhydon only needed to eat once or twice a month, but they certainly didn't turn down an opportunity to eat when it came.

Ash nodded and lifted the Ultra Ball, recalling the massive rock type and placing the capture device on his belt. He let a whoosh of air escape his lungs. "Whew, crisis averted."

Douse grunted agreement and Espeon's tail tips twitched. Ash turned then and made his way back to the others, relieved that Rhydon had been willing to listen and somewhat eager for what lay ahead of them.

* * *

The first thing he got taken care of when they returned to the lab was Sobek's X-ray, though he wouldn't get any results from that for a while. The croc was less than pleased by the news that he'd be staying at Oak's lab for a while when Ash left, but he seemed a bit more accepting when he learned that Jasmine would be sticking around as well. It was better when Oak told them that Sobek was welcome to train with Gary and Leaf's Pokemon whenever he wasn't participating in the Professor's study.

Ash let most of his team loose to do as they wished for the day (with the exception of Rhydon) once he had the X-ray out of the way. He got permission from Oak to enter an isolated section of the lab, where Pokemon with severe health problems were kept until they recovered.

He needed to see the Pokemon that had saved him from the St. Anne disaster.

Oak swiped a card key through a scanner on the side of the door they stood at and watched as it slid open. He glanced at Ash, offering the boy a smile. "She's probably asleep, but don't disturb her if you can help it. When you're done, just wait for the door to close behind you- it'll lock on its own."

"Thank you," Ash replied gratefully. The Professor nodded and left Ash alone to do what he needed to.

Ash walked through the doors and waited for them to close behind him. That left him in a small room between two sets of doors that locked for a moment, then blasted the air with anti-bacterials. It was cold and smelled a bit funny, but after roughly five seconds, the next set of doors opened and he was let into the main room.

This particular section of the lab was immaculately clean, with white floors and walls that gleamed brightly. Every inch of the place was spotless tile, which led him down a short hallway to a door on his left. Ash opened the door and walked inside, closing it quietly behind him.

Resting in a pool of warm, clear water, the red Gyarados that had dragged him away from the wreckage of the St. Anne slept. She was coiled up in the shallows of the pool, which was no deeper than maybe ten feet- a depth that was necessary since her muscles were underdeveloped from early evolution. Her head was halfway out of the water, the usually gaping jaws closed to the point that they were barely parted.

Ash quietly approached, but stopped before he could get close enough to disturb her. It was apparent that Gyarados had healed at least a little since he'd last seen her. She didn't seem to be suffering and if it weren't for her stunted body, he could have assumed that she was healthy.

Unfortunately, he knew better. She was barely half the size she needed to be and the red scales signified that she'd evolved far too early. Professor Oak had confirmed from a blood sample that she did not have the shiny gene- just the color left over from her time as a Magikarp.

It would be a long time before she fully recovered from her forced evolution.

The boy watched her in silence for what may have been mere minutes or perhaps an hour, but he didn't want to risk her waking up and seeing him. She probably didn't even know who he was since Ash had been an unintended passenger in her wild escape from the sinking St. Anne. He didn't want to upset her any further- she was already stressed enough.

Ash reluctantly left the room, quietly closing the door behind him, but spared one more glance at the shining red scales resting in the pool of water. He couldn't do anything for Gyarados right now. When he could, he'd do his best to repay her for saving his life.

* * *

The last week or so of Ash and Gary's stay at Pallet Town passed in what felt like the blink of an eye. They spent the majority of their time training with Alain and Luna, (though the latter preferred to observe the more experienced fire types for pointers) which overall was quite productive.

Both Ash and Alain's Charizard had learned how to use Fire Punch, which was a total cakewalk for them, but there was nothing wrong with expanding their move pools a bit. Pyro had been practicing Thunder Punch and Tailwind with Drogo's help (albeit reluctantly on both sides) and in turn had helped the other Charizard start learning Dragon Claw and Flare Blitz. None of those moves were yet perfect, but they were coming along.

Sobek had just about mastered Earth Power and Double Team, though Ash had plans for him to learn a different technique soon enough. Jasmine was, unfortunately, unable to continue training while she was more or less blind- she'd taken to spending most of her time in the pond with Douse and the wild Poliwag and Poliwhirl. The water took the itch off of her shedding skin.

Rhydon hadn't done much training. The behemoth was only really interested in battling, not practicing his own moves. Ash had not enjoyed trying to break up the fight that sparked between Rhydon and Sobek when the former got tired of the training. It had taken Pyro pinning down Sobek and Espeon trapping Rhydon with her psychic powers to shut the fight down.

Speaking of Espeon, she'd quickly gotten a grasp on her psychic abilities with a fair amount of practice. Spectre had helped her learn how to use Psychic in no time. On top of more or less mastering Confusion and Psychic, Ash had her trying to learn Psybeam as well. Her skills were developing at a rapid pace now that she had a wider range of techniques to learn. He could barely keep up with her.

Douse's training had also bore fruit. He had mastered Ice Punch and almost completed Water Burst. In addition, he had begun learning Vacuum Wave- Ash had something special in mind for that particular technique. Vacuum Wave was basically a blast of energy shot forth in a concentrated stream, but he'd thought up a way to give the move some extra variety.

Spectre was still having some trouble mastering Dark Pulse, but it was coming along well. He had mastered Orbit and could currently levitate one Shadow Ball or Ghost Flare around his body for at least five minutes. By the time he mastered the technique, Ash wanted him to be able to hold at least three of those for the same amount of time, if not longer.

Arctus, like Douse, had mastered Ice Punch with even less trouble. He was a quick learner, so Ash had asked Douse to help the ice type learn Water Pulse, which would give him some better ranged options. Ash had some techniques he definitely wanted to teach Arctus and the rest of his team for that matter, but he was kind of reluctant to try teaching them with Gary around.

No offense to his rival, but he didn't feel like spilling all of his team's secrets. He'd keep his most important secret techniques to himself until they were alone again, thank you very much.

Before he knew it, the date they'd decided to leave Pallet Town once again had come.

* * *

Ash was sitting in the lounge of the Professor's lab, waiting for Oak to come back with his team. They were getting a quick checkup while they were here, but he knew they'd be setting off again within the hour. He was chatting with Luna, Gary, and Alain while they waited for both his and Gary's teams to pass the time.

He'd already said his goodbyes to Sobek and Jasmine, but it wasn't as hard as he'd feared it would be once he told them that it was strictly temporary and that they'd have each other for company in the meantime. It was going to be a new challenge for all of them to have to swap out team members as they traveled. Ash just hoped that everything would go well.

"So, what's next for you?" Ash asked Alain.

The Kalosian shrugged. "I'll return to the lab with my uncle for a while, but I think I'll be doing more fieldwork. There's a place in Shalour City called the Tower of Mastery. Supposedly, the people who keep it have been keeping knowledge of Mega Evolution for centuries. I'm going to travel there and see if I can learn anything from them."

"The Tower of Mastery, huh?" Gary repeated thoughtfully. "Sounds interesting. Let me know if you find anything out, yeah?"

"We'll see," Alain replied. "From what I understand they're pretty tight-lipped about it. I'm not sure if I'll be able to learn anything. What about you?"

Gary let his head fall back lazily on the edge of the couch he sat in so he was staring at the ceiling. "Who knows? I'm gonna take a shot at Sabrina's gym in Saffron City next. Aside from that and training, I've got no immediate plans. Ash?"

"Pretty much the same thing," Ash agreed. "I'm going to take the Rock Tunnel this time around and go to Lavender Town one more time. Then I'll go to Saffron and challenge Sabrina, and after that I'll go after Koga again."

His rival grinned. "Payback time."

"You better believe it," he smirked back. Oh, he was going to put a beatdown on Koga's gym.

"Well, I for one am going to start traveling here in Kanto," Luna announced casually.

Ash blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah!" she grinned. "I got my trainer's license from Professor Kukui already and there's still what, eighteen months before the Indigo League comes around? I've got tons of time to train my Pokemon into a team that can wipe the floor with you boys."

Gary scoffed. "Good luck. We've got a six month head start on you. By the time the League comes around, we'll still knock you out of the competition."

"Promises, promises, Gary~" she said in a singsong voice.

"When will you leave?" Ash asked curiously.

"Tomorrow," she admitted. "I'd take off with you guys today, but mom wants to take me to Viridian City herself to stock up on supplies before I take off."

Ash wasn't sure how he felt about that. Maybe six months ago when he first set off, he'd have been okay with Luna taking off on her own in Kanto, but now…he didn't like the idea of her traveling in the same land that Team Rocket was running rampant in.

Not one bit.

"Go get your stuff," he said after a minute of thinking about it.

Luna blinked at her cousin. "Huh?"

"You're not leaving tomorrow, you're leaving today," Ash told her. "You can come with me. We can get all your stuff at Viridian City."

She stared at him in a mixture of bewilderment and surprise. "Wait, are you actually serious?"

"No, I'm just saying that to get your hopes up so I can crush them for my own twisted sense of humor," he said sarcastically. "Yes, I'm serious! Go get your stuff! We're leaving in twenty minutes!"

"Wha- that's not enough time!" Luna practically wailed as she leapt to her feet and blitzed out of the lab, leaving behind a dumbfounded Cinder in the chair she'd been sitting in. Gary and Alain stared after the girl for a moment, then looked at Ash curiously.

"I didn't think you'd want to travel with someone else," Alain said. "You've been saying for a week now how much you want to be on your own in the wilderness again."

Ash shrugged. "I don't mind her coming along, I just don't like being cooped up in one place for so long."

Gary was giving him a calculating look. Ash had a feeling that his rival knew exactly why he wanted Luna with him, but he didn't voice it.

Professor Oak finally came in with a confused look on his face, leading Professor Kukui and Sycamore (the former of which had two trays of pokeballs) into the lounge. Delia and Sarah were right behind them.

"Your Pokemon are all in top condition," Oak said as Kukui offered the individual trays to Ash and Gary. The two boys took their teams back gratefully, putting the pokeballs on their belts where they belonged.

Sarah jabbed her thumb over her shoulder towards the entrance. "Can anyone explain why I just saw Luna take off out of the lab?"

Ash squared his shoulders. "She's coming with me. We're going to travel around Kanto together."

Sarah stiffened and Delia's eyebrows shot up. "Ash, you can't just decide that without asking Sarah!"

"Sorry, but it's better this way," he replied stubbornly. "I already know the region and I can help her get her things in Viridian City. It's safer for her."

Delia frowned at him and Sarah couldn't seem to figure out what to say, but Professor Oak's eyes flashed with some kind of understanding. He understood why Ash was so insistent that Luna come with him, even if he didn't agree with the secrets he was keeping.

"Ash, you aren't obligated to keep up with her just because we're related, you know," Sarah said.

"I know, I just want her to travel with me," he told her. "I know some good places to catch Pokemon and I can help her figure out how to defeat some of the Gym Leaders I've already beaten."

"Well…" Sarah pursed her lips worriedly. "Okay. It's more sudden than I was hoping for, but I admit that I feel more comfortable with the thought that Luna's traveling with you than on her own."

Ash nodded. That was how he felt, though his reasons were slightly different than Sarah's.

"Right, well if that's been taken care of," Oak intervened once the family argument had been settled. "I've got a few things here for both of you. I know neither of you will wait here until your birthdays come to pass, so I took the liberty of getting you some early presents."

He pulled out a pair of discs from the inside of his jacket- TMs. One was colored white and the other was yellow, though Ash couldn't tell at first glance if they were the permanent kind or the temporary.

"I know you've been wanting one of these for a while, Gary," Oak offered his grandson the white TM with a smile. "Care to take a guess?"

"If I say Hyper Beam, do I get an extra prize?" Gary grinned as he took the TM gratefully.

Oak rolled his eyes. "Making it easier for you to teach your team the technique is your extra prize. Remember to use it carefully."

"I've got this, gramps."

"And for Ash," Oak gave him the yellow TM. "This is Zap Cannon. It's a difficult move to master, but with practice, I think you can make use of it."

Ash took the TM with wide eyes. Zap Cannon- he'd heard of that move before, but he had no idea it was in TM form. It was an incredibly powerful electric type move that took so much concentration to generate that its accuracy often suffered. But he had a feeling he could make it work somehow.

"Thank you," he said.

Oak merely nodded. "Both of you should know that I gave a gift to Leaf as well before she left, but I think I'll let you find out what she got the hard way."

It sounded like there was supposed to be some kind of pun in that sentence, but Ash wasn't sure. His focus returned to the rest of the group when Kukui flicked his fingers up in a casual salute.

"You kids make sure you train hard and take care of yourselves, yeah? I might be a Professor now, but my team can still open up a can of whoop-ass on you if you slack off!"

Gary sneered. "I'd like to see you try, old man!"

"Oi, oi, oi, those are fighting words, boy!" Kukui grinned largely, rolling up his sleeves to show off his muscled arm. "Don't pick fights you can't win!"

Sycamore rolled his eyes at his colleague's antics. "Stop by my lab in Lumiose City if you ever find yourself in the Kalos Region. I can tell you more about our findings of Mega Evolution then if you're still interested."

"You know, I think I'll take you up on that," Ash said honestly. "I don't know when, but I'll make sure to come by sometime."

Alain smirked. "Make sure you train Pyro up well- Drogo's been going mad for intensive training again. He'll want a rematch next time we see each other, and so will I."

"You're on," he replied challengingly.

"I'M BACK!"

All attention flew to the entrance, where Luna stood in the doorway gasping for breath with a backpack slung haphazardly over one shoulder. "I'm…ready to go…hah…"

Ash crossed his arms with a smirk. "Out of breath already?"

"Shut up," Luna sucked in a huge breath to regain her lost oxygen. "I had everything already packed for tomorrow, so I ran as hard as I could."

Sarah bit her lip upon seeing her daughter ready to go. "Are you sure you want to leave today?"

"Sure, I'm sure!" Luna grinned hugely. "Besides, I'll be okay with Ash. His team is awesome."

"I can't really disagree with that," Sarah admitted. "Okay. I…This is faster than I wanted it to be, but I think you're both right to leave together. Just _stick_ together, okay? I'll have to go back to Alola soon and well…"

"I'll keep tabs on them," Delia set her hand on her sister's shoulder. She smiled sweetly at Ash and Luna, but there was an underlying threat there. "And they will get in touch with me regularly, _won't you?"_

"Yes ma'am," Ash assured quickly. He knew better than to invoke his mother's wrath.

Sarah sighed and fished for something in one of her pockets. "Well…This is for you, sweetie."

She pulled out a small, round earring with a multicolored jewel attached to it. "This was sort of a lucky charm that I found while I was a trainer. I know I wasn't a trainer for long, but still…I hope it might help you out somehow."

Luna took the pretty stone jewelry and tucked it safely in a pocket in her bag. "I'll put it on when we get to Viridian City. Then I can call you and show it off."

Sarah smiled. "I'd appreciate that, sweetie."

Ash faced his own mother, who had her arms folded in front of her. She smiled at him somewhat sadly. "I know there's no stopping you, so just take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will."

She wrapped her arms around him then and squeezed him tightly in one of those signature Ketchum hugs. "If you ever need to talk to me, don't be afraid to call."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, his voice muffled in her shoulder.

Delia stepped back and reached into her shoulder bag. "I'm not sure if you really need this or not, but…"

She pulled out a red vest with black trimmings, as well as a new red cap decorated with the top half of a black pokeball symbol. Delia gestured to the current vest and hat he was wearing. "I saw how beaten up they were when you got home and tried to fix them, but you really put them through the ringer, so I made you some new ones. I also got you an international passport and had the information updated into your Pokedex. I don't know if you're planning on going abroad, but if you are…well, just let me know first, okay?"

Ash took the offered gifts gratefully. His mother probably worked for hours to get these finished. "Thank you, mom. I love them. And thanks for getting my passport set up."

She smiled at him gently. "It's no trouble, sweetie. Let me know if you ever need something, okay?"

"I will," Ash promised, placing the gifts carefully in his bag. He'd put them on once he was in Viridian City, like Luna. For now, he just wanted to get on the move and back on the road.

Oak folded his arms behind his back. "I'll be sure to take care of your Pokemon that stay here while you're all traveling. Luna, your Pokemon will also be transferred here in the instance that you capture more than six."

"Thank you, Professor Oak," Luna said sincerely.

Gary shouldered his own bag and waved at their elders on his way out. "See y'all later!"

"Bye!" Luna called as Ash and Gary led her out of the lab, all of them eager to leave Pallet Town behind and hit the roads of Kanto once more.

* * *

Before he knew it, they were in Viridian City. The journey there hadn't been all that special- they'd seen a few wild Pokemon, but Luna hadn't attempted to catch one yet. She wanted to just take the day to get used to traveling. Cinder hadn't been so enthusiastic about walking all day, but the exercise would be good for him.

The three trainers made their way to the Pokemon Center, where Gary stopped out front and placed his hands in his pockets casually. "Well, this is where I take off."

Luna blinked. "What, you aren't staying? There's no way you'll make it through Viridian Forest by the end of the day."

"Of course not," Gary shrugged. "It takes a few days to get through by foot. I'm flying over it on Pidgeot. There's some stuff I want to get done in Pewter City asap."

"Can you really make it by the end of the day? The sun is going to set soon…"

Ash nodded at her for reassurance. "Gary's Pidgeot is wicked fast. He'll make it."

"There you have it," Gary said cheerily. He flicked two fingers in their direction as he loosed Pidgeot from a pokeball. "Smell ya later!"

He climbed onto the massive bird, who shrieked once before launching himself into the air with one powerful surge of his wings. Ash and Luna watched Pidgeot until it disappeared from view over the forest in the distance, then faced each other.

"So, what now?" She asked.

Ash thought about it for a moment. "I think I should get us a room for tonight here at the Pokemon Center. If you want, you can train at the field in the back or go to the city edge and look for Pokemon."

"Hmm…" Luna pursed her lips. "I think Cinder and I will go looking for Pokemon. Know any good spots?"

"Viridian Forest, obviously," he began. "But I heard that there's a good spot in the woods and plains to the west of here. I've never been out there, but it's closer to the mountains. You might be able to find something there. Just don't go out too far- it's almost mid afternoon."

"Yes, sir!" Luna saluted jokingly, then picked up the Litten at her feet and took off for the western side of the city. Ash watched her go with a fond smile before entering the Pokemon Center.

The Center was pretty quiet. There were a few trainers chatting in the lounge area, but none he recognized. He made his way to the front desk where, as usual, Nurse Joy sat patiently. She was currently typing something on her computer- probably a report on the Pokemon she was taking care of.

When he got to the front of the desk, Joy looked up and blinked at him for a moment, as though she were struggling to place his face. After a second, she recognized him and her eyes widened. "Ah- you're that boy who fought off Team Rocket here a few months ago!"

"Yep," he replied with a smile. "Nice to see you again, Nurse Joy."

"It's nice to see you as well," she agreed, standing up. "How can I help you?"

"I actually just need to rent a room for tonight right now," he admitted. "Two beds if you have the space available."

"Let me check…" Joy clicked something on the computer and scrolled down for a few seconds. "Would a bunk-bed work?"

He shrugged. "It works for me."

"Right, I'll rent that one out for you," she clicked the mouse again and then held her hand out. "Let me just see your Pokedex for ID."

It was common practice in Pokemon Centers that Ash had gone through several times. As he waited for Joy to register his information into the computer, he heard the doors open again and glanced over his shoulder to see who had come in.

As it so happened, the same Officer Jenny he'd met in Viridian last time had entered the building with two people behind her and a…Meowth?

Ash stared at the group for several seconds before he placed the faces- the man with blue hair and the red-head with her aristocratic face. He scowled and his hand fell to the pokeball containing Pyro on reflex, but before he could release the dragon, Nurse Joy hurriedly reached over the desk to grab his shoulder.

"Whoa, there!" She exclaimed, though Ash did not remove his hand from Pyro's pokeball. "I know what you're thinking, Ash, but it's not anything like that, I promise."

"They're Rockets," he scowled.

"Not anymore," Jenny said as she got into earshot of Ash and Joy. The Officer looked him up and down for a few seconds. "You don't look like a rookie anymore, kid. How have you been holding up?"

"Well enough," he glared at the Rockets- former or nor- still behind her. They looked rather uneasy with his obvious animosity, but didn't offer him any in return.

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "At ease, kiddo. They're with me. As a matter of fact, they finished their parole last month. They work for a news broadcasting company in Celadon City, now."

Ash's hand remained on Pyro's pokeball, but he let the tension slip from his body somewhat. "At least they aren't causing trouble anymore."

The officer looked more amused by his reluctance to let it go than anything. She glanced at the three former Rockets for a second. "Why don't you four have a civil conversation while I speak with Joy, alright? This won't take long and it's not relevant to your story."

"Yes, ma'am," the man said. Ash had forgotten his name, and he wasn't exactly eager to speak with any of them, but he saw some merit in talking to the former Rockets- if they knew anything about the organization that he could use against it…

He reluctantly inclined his head towards one of the nearby tables in the lounge that was unoccupied and led them there. Ash sat down on one side while the former Rockets took the other.

There was an awkward silence for what was probably a solid three minutes. Ash wasn't really sure how to start talking to them.

The man finally broke the silence with a sigh. "I guess we owe you an apology for trying to steal your Pokemon a while back."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "I guess so, but my team shut you down pretty good. We could call it even."

"Fair enough," the man agreed, holding his hand out. "I'm James. This is Jessie and- well, Meowth."

The bipedal cat had clambered onto the seat between the two humans and had to remain standing so he could look at Ash- he was rather short, after all. "I'm not much of a fighter, but that was some kick you gave me. I didn't think kids could fight."

Ash smirked somewhat after shaking James' hand. "It was a pretty good kick, wasn't it?"

"I'll say," Jessie propped her chin on her palm, leaning on her elbow. She was pouting as she remembered the fight. "You punted Meowth right onto my face."

He inclined his head. "Sorry about that."

"Apology accepted," she sniffed. "So, what do you want?"

Ash tapped the table with one finger. "I want to know about Team Rocket. What can you tell me?"

James and Jessie exchanged an uneasy glance before the man spoke. "I hate to break it to you kid, but not much. Truth is, we were literally hired a week before you came in and steamrolled us. Raiding the center was our first job and after we failed, we got fired. Jenny arrested us after that and we plead guilty, so she gave us a five-month parole and we got an internship gig for the news company."

"Turns out we're better at journalism than crime," Meowth added. "The company offered us a job not long after the internship ended. This is our first legit story, shadowin' the officer at work."

"Why join them in the first place?"

James shrugged. "We didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into. I mean, we more or less abandoned out old lives and we didn't know much about Team Rocket to begin with. We needed a job and some guy on the Nugget Bridge north of Cerulean City asked if we wanted to be hired- just out of the blue, an opportunity to make a living. Didn't know it'd involve getting our asses handed to us and getting arrested."

Ash considered that information for a moment. It didn't surprise him that they were rookies since he'd fought them off his first day as a trainer, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a bit disappointed. He'd kind of hoped that they'd be able to tell him something about the Rockets.

"Is there anything you can tell me about them?" Ash asked. "Anything at all?"

"Why do you want to know?" Jessie countered, studying him warily.

"They've been causing problems for me ever since I met you guys here," he explained. "I've had to fight them more than once. If you can tell me anything, I'd appreciate it."

James crossed his arms. "Well…honestly kid, I can't tell you much that I haven't already told the officer. We knew about a base near Cerulean City and told them about it, but it's no good to you now. The Champion went and blew it up a month ago."

Yeah, he remembered Oak mentioning that. Ash sighed. He'd hoped for better info than this.

"I mean, the only other job they gave us was to track down rare Pokemon," James went on. "There were rumors that the Rockets were going after Legendary Pokemon, but I don't think they've made any headway into that."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what?"

Jessie shrugged. "Some of the higher ups seemed to think that they could get their hands on Legendaries. Pokemon like Zapdos or Suicune who are either supposed to be extinct or critically endangered, you know? They'd be worth more than their weight in gold."

"What, so they're chasing after myths?" Ash echoed, interested now. "I thought the Legendary Birds were considered extinct."

"They are, but apparently Team Rocket doesn't think so," Meowth told him. "We were told first thing when we joined that any rumor or myth about the Legendaries needed to be reported and investigated. They take it pretty seriously."

Hmm. Maybe there _was_ some merit in talking to these three, after all.

"Did you ever hear anything?" He asked eagerly.

The trio exchanged glances for a second before James spoke again. "Well, we heard a rumor when we first got hired in Cerulean City about a mountain range north of Lavender Town. You know, the one the Rock Tunnel goes through? Apparently, the locals have been reporting about some strange Pokemon up in the mountains. Since most people take the tunnel, no one bothers to investigate it, but the Rockets were looking into it six months ago. Not sure if they ever found anything."

Ash pulled out his PokeNav halfway through the explanation and wrote a note on it with the information James had given him. Even if the Pokemon he was describing wasn't Legendary, (which he seriously doubted that it was) Ash wouldn't mind capturing something the Rockets wanted. He wouldn't be directly interfering in their crimes- just beating them to the punch if said Pokemon was still eluding discovery.

It would probably piss them off and that was good enough for him. Plus if the Pokemon was as rare as they suggested, it could make for a powerful ally.

"Thanks for telling me about this," Ash said honestly. He hesitated for a moment. He kept up with the news, but there was nothing like a fresh and immediate source. "Say…would it be possible for me to get a contact number from you guys in case you find out something else about this? I'd really appreciate it."

James raised an eyebrow. "Well…oh wait, you're participating in the Indigo League, right?" At Ash's nod, he went on. "How about we strike a deal? We'll keep you posted if we find out anything else about that rumor and you set us up for an interview with yourself and a few other trainers when the Tournament comes around. Give and take."

He didn't really have any desire to be interviewed, but Ash thought it was a pretty small price to pay for a contact in the news that travelled all around Kanto and maybe even internationally. He'd just bribe Gary and the others into being interviewed.

Well, Gary probably wouldn't _need_ to be bribed if he got to be in the news. The others might.

"Sure, I can do that."

"Then we have a deal!" James grinned, pulling out a sheet of paper from the inside of his jacket and scribbling down a number of it. "That's the number that connects to our phone in the field. If you get connected to the news company HQ for some reason, just tell them to patch you through to us."

"Thanks," Ash tore the paper in half and wrote down his own PokeNav number for them to keep. "I appreciate it."

And to his surprise, he actually meant that.

* * *

He ended up wandering Viridian City for a time after talking with James and his crew, not really sure what he wanted to do, but contemplating his next move. Well, _their_ next move now that he thought of it- he was going to have to remember from now on that he wasn't alone anymore.

Ash figured that he'd retrace the same path as before, but instead of cutting through Saffron City to reach Vermillion, he decided that he'd try the mountains to the east and the Rock Tunnel that ran under it. As he recalled, Paul had been through the Rock Tunnel before and captured his Cubone there, but he'd never mentioned a rare Pokemon in the area. Maybe he hadn't heard that rumor before or just didn't care enough to mention it to him?

He shrugged to himself. Well, whatever. He'd be looking into it now, anyways.

After a while, he stopped in front of a set of doors and blinked, recognizing them. His wanderings had drawn him to the Viridian City Gym.

There was no way he was ready to fight Giovanni and win, Ash knew. His team had gotten stronger since the last time they'd met- exponentially so, but even then, they wouldn't be able to defeat the monsters waiting at their master's side. Still…he was tempted to go inside and see if he couldn't at least challenge the Gym Leader. If he had an idea of where he stood, he might get a grasp for what he should do next.

He contemplated for a few more seconds before he made his decision and pushed the doors open to walk inside. It felt oddly nostalgic walking into the building- Ash knew it had only been a little more than six months since he last was here, but it felt like a lifetime ago.

Before he reached the field, his eyes picked out a figure walking in from a side door to his right. A man dressed in all black appeared and approached him. "Are you here for a Gym Battle?"

Technically, he wasn't, but Ash just rolled with it. "Yes."

The man nodded shortly and took out what looked like a walkie-talkie from the belt around his waist. "Sir, there's a trainer here requesting a Gym Battle with you. Yes…one moment."

He looked at Ash. "Your challenge has been accepted. What is your name?"

"Ash Ketchum."

The man repeated his name though the radio- to whom Ash assumed was Giovanni- and after a brief pause, nodded again. "Yes sir. I shall prepare the field."

"Your challenge has been accepted," he said. "Mr. Giovanni will be here momentarily."

"Thanks," Ash replied. He didn't get a response, but didn't care- instead, he lay his hand on the pokeball containing Pyro and rubbed his thumb over it.

The man had just released an Alakazam that Ash assumed was present for damage control when Giovanni himself came through the side door. He looked towards the challenger's side and upon seeing Ash, started to approach him. Ash turned to face him, but was surprised when a boy who looked to be only a year or so younger than he was hurried through the door behind Giovanni.

The boy was just a bit shorter than him, with pale skin, dark red hair, and dark brown eyes. He wore a high-collared navy coat with a red trim, dark colored jeans, and a pair of navy shoes with a similar red trim to the coat. Ash had no idea if he was a trainer, but he had a single pokeball clipped on the black belt tied around his waist.

His attention was regained as Giovanni stopped a few feet away from him, offering a small smile. "It's been quite a while, young man. You look like a real trainer now."

Ash returned the smile with a slight grin. "I've been through a lot in the last six months."

"Oh, I've heard," the Gym Leader replied mysteriously, piquing Ash's curiosity. Giovanni turned towards the man who'd first come into the room. "Leave us. I can manage this."

"Sir!" The man replied in a military fashion, then turned and left the room.

Giovanni glanced back at Ash. "So, what are you doing here? Surely after just a few months as a trainer you don't think you're ready to take me on."

"I know I'm not, but I wanted to see where I stand against you right now," Ash told him. "I've been training hard for the last month or so in Pallet Town and well…I also wanted to thank you for giving me Sobek back then. He's become one of the most powerful Pokemon on my team."

"Is that so? I'm glad to hear it," Giovanni paused for a moment and looked from Ash to the red-haired boy standing just behind him, who had watched their interaction in a curious silence. He seemed to hesitate- an expression that didn't seem to suit the man at all- and finally decided something. "I suppose I should introduce the two of you. Silver, this is Ash. He's a new trainer I met a while ago. Ash, this is Silver, my son."

Boy, was that the surprise of the year.

Ash's eyes widened before he could reign in his shock. He didn't even know Giovanni was married, let alone the father of a boy nearly his age. For some reason, he couldn't see the man as a parent. Maybe it was the constantly intense expression on his face or his almost dark stature, but Giovanni didn't seem like the kind of man who would be interested in family life at all.

Silver nodded at him politely. "It's nice to meet you."

Ash returned the gesture. "Same here. Are you a trainer?"

"Officially, I only became a trainer a week ago," he admitted. "But I've been taking care of Pokemon since I was eight. My starter is the first Pokemon father lent me."

So he probably already had some experience training Pokemon despite his freshness as a trainer, not to mention his father was the most powerful Gym Leader in Kanto. Ash had a feeling that if he competed in the Indigo League next year, he'd become a force to be reckoned with.

Giovanni cut into their brief conversation. "Let's not tarry. I've still got work to do and a conference tonight."

Ash nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Seeing as this isn't technically an official gym battle, let's approach it with the same rules as before, shall we? A one-on-one match. Are we in agreement?"

"We are."

"Good," Giovanni nodded. "Silver, you can referee if you want."

Silver hurried to the referee stage halfway between the field as Giovanni walked to his side and Ash retained the challenger's spot. He let his fingers trail over the six pokeballs at his belt, weighing his options. Pyro and Douse were probably his best bets here since Espeon didn't have the a lot of experience as a fully evolved Pokemon. Spectre still wasn't strong enough to have a good shot at defeating one of Giovanni's Pokemon and Arctus simply wasn't ready yet.

Rhydon was totally out of the question.

Giovanni enlarged a pokeball that he pulled from inside of his jacket, then hurled it into the air. The device released its contents with a burst of light, revealing the same Nidoqueen Ash had faced six months ago with Pyro- then a Charmander. He knew that it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do in terms of typing, but he desperately wanted to see where they measured up this time against the same opponent.

Pyro appeared with a massive roar, flaring his wings and thrashing his burning tail. His coal eyes locked on Nidoqueen, whom he recognized instantly, and bared his fangs in a challenge. As ever, Nidoqueen retained her regal expression and lifted her chin at the dragon in an act of defiance.

Giovanni smirked from across the field. "I see your Charmander has evolved."

"Yeah, he's gotten a lot stronger since then, too," Ash replied challengingly. Pyro roared again to confirm his trainer's words.

"I'd be disappointed if he wasn't," the Gym Leader remarked, glancing at Silver with a nod.

Silver straightened and cleared his throat. "The match will now commence- the rules are one-on-one with no time limit and the battle will conclude when one side's Pokemon is unable to continue. Begin!"

"Up!" Ash commanded, knowing that to stay on the field was to face Giovanni's mastery of ground type moves. As soon as the Charizard was in the air, he started shouting orders. "Smokescreen!"

Pyro snarled and exhaled a massive cloud of oily black smoke from his jaws, which covered the field and left both him and Nidoqueen surrounded in darkness.

Giovanni was unfazed. "Remove it."

Ash couldn't see Nidoqueen, but the next thing he knew, the smoke was blasted away from the ground type by a powerful spin of her body. Her arms and tail produced enough wind pressure to force the oily cloud away in every direction. But before the cloud was totally extinguished, a torrent of fire erupted from the smoke behind Nidoqueen and crashed into her back.

The ground type roared in pain and spun around, but the Charizard behind the attack was lunging in after his Flamethrower. He was already so close that Nidoqueen was taken completely by surprise. Ash jumped on the chance instantly. "Dragon Rush!"

Bluish-green energy enveloped Pyro the moment before he rammed head-first into Nidoqueen's armored belly, the force of which sent her skidding towards Ash's side of the field. Pyro returned to the air immediately after the attack and put some distance between them, no longer surrounded by the cover Smokescreen provided.

Giovanni was grinning now. "Your Charizard is fast, I'll hand you that. But it looks like you fell short of doing any serious damage."

As he said, Nidoqueen shook off the attack and looked up at Pyro, still as imperious as ever. Ash wasn't surprised in the least- Giovanni wouldn't be the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto if his team couldn't shrug off attacks like that. No, they were only just getting started.

"Dragon Dance!"

"Sandstorm."

Pyro climbed up as high as the ceiling would allow before he began to focus his energy to use Dragon Dance, but before he could, Nidoqueen slammed her claws into the ground and whipped up a tornado of sand and dust. The size of the storm nearly took up the entire field and the highest reaches of it crashed into Pyro, ruining his concentration.

"Come now, Ash!" Giovanni called over the field. "I'm not going to just let you use Dragon Dance like the last time."

Ash was glad that the Sandstorm was restrained by psychic barriers or there was no way he would be able to see or hear anything, but as it was, he had a response to Giovanni's challenge. "Burn it away!"

There was a pause, then fire exploded from the top of the Sandstorm and began to rage in every direction, blazing through the sand and dust until the battlefield was consumed by a firestorm. Ash grinned at the display of raw power as the Sandstorm subsided and Pyro appeared at the height of the field with a defiant roar.

Nidoqueen was still standing below him. Her hide had been blackened in places from the fire, but it wasn't enough to seriously hurt her. She was looking up at the Charizard with slight irritation in her eyes, as though annoyed by the way he diffused her Sandstorm.

Giovanni only smirked slightly. "Not bad."

In the referee's box, Silver looked awestruck, but Ash was focused on the battle and snapped out his next command. "Dragon Claw!"

Pyro's wings slammed down with tremendous force, launching him in a vertical charge at Nidoqueen. His claws became encased in emerald energy as Giovanni ordered a counterattack. "Super Punch."

Nidoqueen's whole body was suddenly outlined by a deep red energy and her right arm glowed with the ferocious white of a Mega Punch, which she launched at Pyro just in time to collide with his Dragon Claw attack. To Ash's astonishment, the raw force of the attack didn't just stop Pyro but sent him flying straight up to crash violently into the ceiling.

"Oh? Consider me impressed for surviving that," Pyro was stunned for a moment, but Giovanni didn't let up. "Sludge Bomb."

"Metal Claw!" Ash countered frantically. He had no idea what kind of move Giovanni had just used, but he knew that if Pyro took one or two more Super Punches then that was it.

Pyro managed to recover himself in time to slash through the Sludge Bombs with Metal Claw, rendering them harmless. By the time he'd diffused that move, Nidoqueen had crouched and launched herself into the air with unbelievable strength. Her left arm was curled back for another Super Punch, which Pyro only avoided by kicking off against the ceiling.

The Super Punch pulverized the roof, smashing right through it and sending chunks flying into the air. It was a good thing the psychic barriers extended that far, otherwise the damage could have extended over the trainers. As it was, Pyro had to fly around quickly for several seconds to avoid falling debris while Nidoqueen simply fell back to the field and landed with an impact that created cracks around her in every direction.

Ash couldn't help but stare, mouth agape, at the sheer destruction Nidoqueen had caused with just that one Super Punch. The field was in ruins already and she'd only attacked a few times.

The thought sent a shiver up his spine. What on earth were the rest of Giovanni's Pokemon like if Nidoqueen alone was capable of this?

Pyro flew back to his side, but didn't land on the field. Ash looked at his starter in concern. "Are you okay?"

The dragon responded with a growl. He could keep going, but even Pyro would admit that Nidoqueen's Super Punches were best avoided.

Ash considered Nidoqueen with a frustrated expression. She was powerful to the point of it being ridiculous. Getting too close to her in a straight fight would mean a swift and certain defeat. The only way they could win was if they outplayed her.

He glanced around the field desperately for some way to get an advantage over Giovanni's Pokemon and found the hope he was looking for by looking skyward. There was still a gaping hole in the gym ceiling and he intended to take full advantage of it.

"Fly up!" Ash ordered. "Get high and use Dragon Dance!"

Pyro immediately darted for the hole to the sky, but Giovanni wasn't about to let him off that easily. "Super Punch."

Nidoqueen rocketed off from the floor after Pyro, getting within five meters of him as soon as she cleared the roof. Ash saw his chance and he went for it. "Smoke Stream!"

Smoke Stream was still experimental, but concept was simple enough- Pyro let loose a Smokescreen and then sped up its flow with Tailwind. He couldn't yet use Tailwind well enough to enhance his own speed, but pushing smoke with a breeze moved it quickly despite its impotency. Before Nidoqueen could reach her target, she was suddenly smothered by a blast of oily smoke, blinding her. The pause gave Pyro just enough time to counterattack.

The next thing she knew, her body was struck by an intense Flamethrower, which cut off her upward momentum and started to force her back down to earth. As Nidoqueen began to fall, Ash shouted another command. "Fire Punch!"

Nidoqueen bellowed as Pyro's flame-clad fist smashed into the top of her head and launched her downward, but it wasn't enough. Giovanni looked as calm as ever. "Stone Step."

The ground type righted herself in midair and jerked her hand, which was pointed at the ground, towards her. From below, a Stone Edge appeared and rose at such an angle that she landed on the flat part of the rock still twenty feet from the ground. It lessened the impact of her fall and gave her a chance to more quickly look up at Pyro.

Much to her surprise, the dragon was still diving after her, but Pyro was also caught off-guard by Nidoqueen's unexpected stop so high up.

"Super Punch," Giovanni ordered.

"Dragon Rush!" Ash cried out desperately. Pyro was too close to peel away at this point.

They collided a second later and the only thing that kept Pyro from getting instantly wiped out was the fact that Nidoqueen hadn't had time to build up a lot of momentum for her Super Punch. They pushed against each other with tremendous force; Nidoqueen was planted firmly on her stone platform and Pyro was flapping his wings furiously to keep his momentum up, but he was tiring quickly from the strain.

Giovanni snapped his fingers. "Extension."

Before Ash could react, Nidoqueen's tail tapped the rock beneath her and suddenly, a Stone Edge erupted from the original body of stone to punch into Pyro's stomach. The unexpected blow hit cleanly and knocked the wind from the Charizard, giving Nidoqueen a chance to launch her opponent out of the air and back to the ground with the force of her Super Punch.

Pyro slammed into the ground on Giovanni's side of the field with enough of an impact to make a crater beneath him. While the Charizard was stunned, Nidoqueen twisted her foot and the massive blade of stone receded into the ground, simultaneously placing her back to the field.

Ash was still reeling from what he'd just seen. He had no idea Stone Edge could extend like that, with new blades growing from the original one. What else could Giovanni do with these techniques?

He watched as Pyro forced himself to his feet, snarling in pain from the last two devastating blows. The Stone Edge extension had been a cheap shot, but the real damage was from Nidoqueen's Super Punch. She was just so incredibly strong.

Pyro glared at Nidoqueen, who was as impassive as ever, if perhaps breathing a little harder than normal. He bared his fangs and bellowed just as his tail flame surged from red to blue in a near-explosion of energy. Blaze was up and running.

Ash knew that this was their only shot at this point to actually defeat Nidoqueen. He went on the offensive before Giovanni could recover from the unexpected blast of heat and light. "Flamethrower!"

Pyro sucked in a huge breath, then released the attack in a roaring torrent of bright blue fire. The stream crashed into Nidoqueen with terrible force, causing her to bellow in pain. Pyro kept it up, bathing her in fire with all his might.

Giovanni watched the conflagration ripple and roar over the field as it burned his Pokemon. He was grinning widely. "Magnificent. The heat is so great I can feel it through the psychic barrier. But still…"

Ash saw Nidoqueen bring her arm back and watched as it glowed bright white. She swung the limb in an upward-diagonal motion at the Flamethrower and the blue fire was blown away by the shock wave caused by her Super Punch. His eyes grew wide in disbelief.

Giovanni's grin became smaller with just a hint of what may have been smugness or arrogance. "It's still not enough. Not yet."

Nidoqueen was badly burnt and she looked tired, but it was clear from her last Super Punch that she still had energy to spare. Ash let his teeth grit slightly. Pyro was strong enough to deal Nidoqueen loads of damage, but he didn't have enough power yet to really finish the job.

He let out a frustrated sigh. That was okay. He still had nearly eighteen months to get strong enough to defeat Giovanni before the Indigo League. This was still huge progress.

Ash saw that Pyro had spent most of the energy boost he gained from Blaze and recalled him, smiling at the pokeball in his hand once the dragon was inside. "You did great, buddy. I'm proud of you. Take a break now, alright?"

Silver gestured to Giovanni. "The challenger has recalled his Pokemon. The Gym Leader wins!"

Giovanni recalled Nidoqueen and nodded at the Alakazam who had been floating in one corner of the room. The psychic's eyes gleamed in acknowledgement as it floated to the demolished field and began to repair it.

The Gym Leader walked around the devastation and over to Ash, who clipped Pyro's pokeball back on his belt. He nodded at the boy. "I'm impressed. You've come a long way in just six months. Most of my challengers lately have to use two or three of their Pokemon before they get past Nidoqueen."

Ash refused to let the joy he felt from the praise get to him- he still had a long way to go. "Thanks, but I've got to train harder to beat you and the other Gym Leaders. Right now, I think only three or four of my team could compete with Nidoqueen and it'd take Pyro and one of the others to defeat her."

"Still, that's impressive for a rookie trainer in his first year," Giovanni said. "Not many trainers reach this point so quickly. How many badges do you currently have?"

"Just four," Ash replied. "I tried facing Koga a couple of months ago, but we lost. Pyro and the others weren't fully evolved then though, so I think I'll be able to defeat him next time. I'm going to try taking on Sabrina and Blaine as well."

"Ambitious," Giovanni remarked. "Koga and Sabrina are tricky foes, but I suspect that your team will be capable of defeating them. However, don't let Blaine's age fool you- that old man might not be a member of the Elite Four anymore, but his team is nearly as strong as mine and more experienced. They've aged a bit, but they're still ferocious. That Magmortar of his in particular is a monster."

He nodded. "I'll remember that."

That was definitely something he'd remember to look into. If even Giovanni admitted that Blaine's Magmortar was so terribly powerful, he'd have to be stupid to ignore it.

"Ash," his thoughts left Blaine instantly as Giovanni looked at him with a scrutinizing expression. "I've got several contacts in the League. Rumor has it that you've been attacking Team Rocket."

He stiffened. "Yes."

"Why? That's a very reckless and dangerous thing to do."

"..They've attacked me several times," Ash replied after a moment. He felt compelled to tell Giovanni the truth, but it still came out reluctantly. "They took a friend of mine hostage at Mt. Moon and in Celadon one of my team was almost…"

His fist clenched tightly. "I can't- I won't let it go. I can never forgive them for everything they've done to my friends and my team. I want to crush them into dust and erase them forever. Besides, if I don't get rid of them first, they'll come for me anyway. Two of their Admins came after me on the St. Anne- they said that was mostly why they attacked it in the first place. To get rid of me for fighting them."

It might've been a trick of the light, but Giovanni's eyes seemed to flicker with something akin to fury for a split second. But it was gone as soon as it came and he wondered if he'd just imagined it.

"You aren't going to stop, are you?" He asked quietly.

Ash hesitated and shook his head slowly. "I don't think I can. I told Professor Oak I would so that he wouldn't tell mom, but I…I just have to get rid of them however I can to keep everyone safe. That's why my team and I need to get stronger. The grunts are fodder, but the Admins have Pokemon like that Hydreigon Proton used. I…we didn't stand a chance against that thing."

"Hydreigon are along the same vein of high-power Pokemon like Dragonite and Tyranitar," Giovanni told him. He paused. "Along with certain Legendary Pokemon species."

Ash blinked and smiled somewhat wryly. "Like the birds, you mean? Maybe once they were. They're extinct now, though."

Giovanni's face was unreadable, but he got the distinct feeling that there was something the man wasn't saying.

"I have a suggestion," Giovanni said suddenly. "There's an associate of mine currently in Pewter City. If you're interested in making your team stronger, I strongly advise speaking with him. He's in Kanto for a short time to do research- if you're interested, I can send word to him and he'll meet with you."

Ash considered it. He would be lying if he said he wasn't at least curious about the idea. Maybe this associate of his had some insight into rare Pokemon or effective training techniques? If it turned out that it wasn't something he was interested in, Ash could just go back to his usual traveling and training. If Giovanni was suggesting it, then surely it was at least worth looking into.

"Okay," Ash decided. "I'll meet him. Who is he?"

Giovanni nodded in approval. "His name is Lysandre."

* * *

Ash tied his shoes as he rose from his bed, standing up and stretching. It was the morning after his fight against Giovanni and they were about to leave the Pokemon Center to make their way to Pewter City. He and Luna had only to pick up their Pokemon from Nurse Joy and head off.

Luna poked her head out of the bathroom with her toothbrush halfway in her mouth. "Ready?"

"Yes," Ash replied, shouldering his bag. "You?"

She ducked back inside the bathroom, where he heard her spit and then rinse her mouth out in the sink. A moment later, she bounced out and grabbed her bag from the top bunk before grinning at him widely. "Yup!"

Ash shook his head at her antics, but he smiled anyways.

They made their way to the front desk of the center, where Ash gave Joy their room key and she in turn returned their Pokemon to them. Ash eyed the second pokeball that Luna set on her belt, the one she _refused_ to show him until they were in Viridian Forest. She always did enjoy keeping him in suspense.

"Thanks for having us," Ash thanked the Nurse.

"It was my pleasure," she smiled at the two young trainers. "Be safe on your journey!"

"We will," Luna assured her before following Ash out of the building.

The two were walking towards the Viridian Forest when Ash heard someone shout his name. He turned and, much to his surprise, saw Silver hurrying after them with a traveling bag slung over one shoulder.

"Silver? What's up?" Ash queried. He was perplexed as to why the boy was looking for him.

The red-head took a second to catch his breath before straightening and looking at Ash. "I was wondering if it'd be okay for me to…well, if I could travel with you."

That got him a raised eyebrow from Ash and an owlish expression from Luna. "That came out of the blue."

Silver didn't look away from Ash. "Father's allowing me to start traveling as a trainer now. I…thought I might be able to help you train. I'm new to traveling, but I've learned lots of techniques from watching father battle against challengers. I'd be more than willing to tell you about a few and maybe help you teach members of your team if you like."

He didn't need to bribe Ash in the first place, but learning some techniques straight out of Giovanni's book might be useful in the future. It was unexpected, yet he couldn't deny wanting to learn more about Silver and to an extent, Giovanni. If nothing else, Silver might turn out to be a great rival one day for him to improve against.

Plus he wasn't sure if he could refuse Silver considering the look of admiration he'd seen in the boy's eyes the other day. Even now, he looked hopeful that Ash might allow him to tag along.

Oh, hell. It couldn't hurt to at least show him the ropes, right?

Ash nodded after a bit. "Alright."

Silver grinned widely while Luna turned her confused face at Ash. "Wait up, I don't even know this kid! Who is he?"

Ash merely turned and began walking towards the forest again, restless to get the day's traveling started. "You'll have plenty of time to get to know each other in the forest. Hurry up, we don't have all day."

"What kind of answer is that!?"

He just kept going, leading a terribly confused Luna and an eager Silver into the Viridian Forest.

* * *

In his office at the Viridian Gym, Giovanni sat staring at the huge, glowing screen on one wall for several minutes in silence. After reading the data gleaned from the most recent reports, he took the phone on his desk and dialed in a number. It rang once before someone picked up on the other end.

"I apologize for calling you prior to the scheduled conference, but I have something I must ask of you," Giovanni began. Silence was his answer, so he went on. "I'm sending someone your way- I think he could be a suitable candidate for your project…"

* * *

 **A/N: I'm back! Sorry for being so late, but college finals and writer's block were NOT my friends the last couple of months! Anyways, I just had to get this chapter out since it's been fighting me the whole way and though it's not perfect, it should help us get the story back on track. So with that, let's get to the review responses for chapter 19!**

 **Cottonmouth25: Satoshi... I see what you did there. Loving the appearances by Sycamore and Kukui, my two favorite Pokémon Professors! And no, I'm not particularly looking forward to Ash getting a Megazard. You can thank the Kalos League for that...Other than that, I really enjoyed the tidbits about Pokémon evolution mechanics and the (long-term) evolution of Pokémon species in general. I'm studying biology right now, so stuff like that really fascinates me, you know? I also really like Luna's character and I hope we'll see more of her. :P**

 **-Honestly, the Satoshi/Kasumi thing I did with the history was just a way for me to come up with historical figures that weren't totally OC and thus utterly redundant to everyone reading about them. Sycamore and Kukui are two of my favorite professors too, but Oak is still awesome. Who said Ash is getting a Megazard? As far as the Kalos League goes...eh, I just denied the last few seconds of that battle lol. I'm glad you're enjoying the evolution mechanics! Biology is a huge favorite of mine as well! As for more Luna...wish granted!**

 **Technow: I've got my money on Eevee becoming a Sylveon. Ash already has Fire, Water, Electric, Dark, and Ice, so unless you're gonna give him a double there's only Espeon, Leafeon, and Sylveon. And Eevee's grooming habits seem a lot more Sylve-ish than Leaf or Esp. So, Mega-Evolution finally appears? And here I expected Kukui to show up with a present of a Z-Ring. XD It's obviously just a matter of time until Ash gets a Charizardite, but none of his other Pokémon he has at present are Mega-capable - unless you're gonna start making up Mega-Evolutions. Which is totally fine. (I dream of Mega Luxray and Goodra.) I really like your designs surrounding evolution. :) And we haven't seen the rest of Oak's team yet. There's Charizard, Arcanine (BTW, two fire types? I hope he gets an electric or he dies to water) and Alakazam. Where's the rest?**

 **-You were close on Eevee! Mega Evolution will be a theme in this story, but Z-Moves...probably not. Is it obvious that Ash will get a Charizardite? 0_o We'll have to wait and see! I most certainly will NOT be making up Megas unless the next game series following Sun and Moon comes out with more of them...please (Mega Flygon, pleasepleaseplease!) There's still lots to look into regarding Evolution! As for the rest of Oak's team, only time will tell!**

 **wes27: Great story, i am really enjoying it so far. Now there is one thing that i have been wondering and that is that you have hinted at all of ash's female travel companions except for dawn in the story so far. Does this mean anything as in foreshadowing to things to come or is it just a fun reference. Which reminds me, is ash going to travel to any other region?**

 **-The fact that Dawn has yet to be mentioned is just sheer coincidence so far. She'll appear later in the series, don't worry. As for Ash traveling to other regions, the answer is yes, but maybe not in the order you'd expect!**

 **dragonMSTR: Always love to see a new chapter for this story, and this one definitely was no disappointment. You executed the Charizard Battle very well, and I already love Luna's character. Side note, in Moon I started with a litten named Cynder, and I have an Uncle Ian, so I found those coincidences quite funny. Keep up the good work, I can't wait for more.**

 **-I'm glad you liked it! There's lots of Luna to come! Erm...I promise I wasn't creeping...not at all...lol jk, but that's a cool coincidence! There's lots more of Challenger to** **come!**

 **That's all for now! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and as ever, please review and thanks for reading!**


	21. Lysandre and Steven

_Chapter Twenty One: Lysandre and Steven_

By the end of their first day through Viridian City, Ash had learned two things. First, some trainers apparently could manage to not grow at all over the course of six months; their encounter with the "Samurai" he'd faced the first time around was a testament to that. Luna and Cinder pulverized his Pinsir with seemingly little effort.

Second, Luna's newest addition to her team -a Mankey- was going to get on the last nerve of every member of his team before the night was up.

He felt his eyelid twitch involuntarily as the small, monkey-like Pokemon jumped around with its seemingly limitless energy, picking up rocks and pulling grass out by the roots before hurling them in any random direction. It had already smacked Douse twice with its projectiles and Pyro was struck in the face by a rock. Espeon stopped any projectiles coming her way with Psychic, but the rest of his team (barring Spectre, who had taken up residence in Ash's shadow for safety) were all at risk of being hit.

Cinder was more annoyed by his new partner than anything. The Litten growled at Mankey warningly, but it paid him no heed. Luna set her bags down on the ground when they set up camp and pulled her silver-blue Pokedex out.

Silver ducked as a rock went sailing over his head, causing him to eye the fighting type warily. "Why is it so…rambunctious?"

"No idea. Let's see…" Luna tapped on Mankey's profile in her Pokedex and the mechanical voice listed off the fighting type's data.

 _Mankey, the Pig Monkey Pokemon. It can spontaneously become enraged. Everything near it clears away when it rampages and the loneliness Mankey experiences after that makes it even angrier. When its raging tires it out and causes it to faint, it enters a state of near-sleep that enables it to rest without completely letting down its guard._

 _This Mankey is male and knows the moves: Scratch, Low Kick, Leer, Focus Energy, Fury Swipes, and Karate Chop. Its ability is Vital Spirit, which prevents Mankey from ever falling asleep._

Silver's eyebrows rose up until they were nearly hidden under his bangs. "Wait, you mean he doesn't sleep? _Ever?"_

"Nope," Ash muttered, eyeing the fighting type with a look that said he was resigned to their fate. "He literally can't fall asleep. If you knock him out, he gets close, but he never goes into true unconsciousness thanks to Vital Spirit."

Luna rolled her eyes at the exasperated tone of her cousin. "But that means we have a guard who never gets tired! Mankey can keep watch while we sleep."

"No, you're confusing tiredness with the ability to sleep," Ash retorted. "Mankey can still get tired, he just can't sleep. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if his inability to sleep makes him get angry."

The three trainers all stared as Mankey hung from a tree by his tail, seemingly oblivious to the problems he was already causing despite only being on Luna's team for a single day.

Ash sighed. "Well, if worst comes to worst, Luna can keep Mankey in his pokeball for the night. I'm not letting Rhydon out in this forest, either; he'll go nuts in this kind of area. My team can keep guard for us while we sleep. Let's just get camp set up for now, okay?"

Luna threw him a mock salute. "Sir, yes sir."

"Think we'll have time to train a bit?" Silver asked.

Ash considered the sun setting over the tree line. "We've probably got time for one or two quick spars, although I don't generally like fighting in the forest with my team. Pyro alone can light a forest fire as easily as he breathes."

Pyro puffed out his chest proudly at that, even though it wasn't exactly a compliment. Ash smiled at his starter with amusement. "But I don't think we'll have a problem if you two spar for a bit."

"You sure you don't want to? Not even with Arctus?" Luna asked curiously. "I thought he needed the most training right now."

Ash shook his head. "He does, but it's really hot right now and he's been walking with us most of the day. I want to give him time to cool off."

Arctus did look rather tired; his thick fur coat was not meant for traveling the humid and hot Viridian Forest in Summer. Ash hoped that the cub would become more comfortable as the seasons changed and brought Fall and Winter around.

Silver unclipped a pokeball from his belt -the only one he currently possessed- and walked away from the campfire they'd set up to a clearer area. "Well, I could use a battle."

Luna grinned. "Me too! I wanna see how Mankey fights."

Ash shrugged and took a position as referee. "Alright, we'll do a one-on-one. The battle ends when only one Pokemon is still standing. Deal?"

Silver nodded and Luna's grin widened. She looked at Mankey and called to the fighting type. "Mankey! Come down here for a battle!"

The pig monkey stopped his crazed movement and froze at the word "battle" before darting out of the trees and onto the ground. His eyes sought his opponent eagerly, obviously ready to work off some of his energy. Ash's team and Cinder watched keenly, though Espeon huffed at the fighting type in exasperation.

Silver enlarged the capture device in his hand and hurled it into the air. "This is my partner, Gawain!"

What emerged from the pokeball was something that both intrigued and perplexed Ash. The creature was about five feet long, with a pale brown body that was kind of segmented like an insect's. It had bulging green eyes and two horn-like antennae on its head. Four emerald, rhombus-shaped wings rested on its shoulders and fluttered rapidly, as if it was preparing to take off, and four small, twig-like legs with two simple grasping utensils on each one.

It looked, for all the world, like a dragonfly, yet Ash could see reptile-like scales covering its body. He was at a bit of a loss to accurately classify the Pokemon.

"What is it?" Luna asked curiously.

"He's a Vibrava. A ground and dragon type," Silver told them, kneeling to carefully stroke Gawain's back while avoiding his vibrating wings. Gawain leaned into the touch, his head tilting rapidly like a dragonfly's as he assessed his surroundings. "Father gave him to me when he was a Trapinch. I couldn't really train him then since all Trapinch like to do is eat and sleep; they're kind of like the pupae form of their evolutionary line. But he evolved a couple of months ago and I've gotten to work with him better since then."

"Vibrava, huh…" Ash murmured to himself. It made sense that Giovanni would grant his son a ground type to take care of, and seemingly a rare one at that. Ash didn't know of any other ground and dragon types aside from Garchomp. He made a mental note to read up on Vibrava's evolutionary line later on. "Well, let's see what he can do. Is this your first battle?"

"Pretty much," Silver admitted with a shrug. "I mean, father let us spar against his Pokemon sometimes, but…"

"They're all monsters," Ash finished. Yeah, there was no way Silver and the small dragon would be able to defeat one of Giovanni's beasts right now. This would be the first battle where he had a shot at winning. Well, a better shot.

Luna wasn't one to give up easily, after all.

"Alright, you two," he said. "Start!"

"Mankey, Low Kick!" Luna ordered immediately.

The monkey darted forward, moving into a slide as he closed in on Gawain and tried to kick out the dragon's thin legs. Gawain responded by flying straight up, though it was more of a hover than actual flight. Luna was undeterred, however. "Fury Swipes!"

Mankey easily changed course from a slide into a jump, swiping in a frenzy at Gawain's underbelly. The Vibrava hissed and moved up higher and to the side in an attempt to evade the attack, but Mankey just started jumping from the trees to attack Gawain in the air.

Silver's eyes narrowed. "Bug Bite!"

Gawain locked onto Mankey as the fighting type came in for another swipe, this time biting his opponent's hand. Mankey squealed and started smacking Gawain's head frantically with Karate Chop.

"Dragon Breath!" Silver commanded.

Still clamped onto Mankey's hand, Gawain let loose a jet of emerald fire, shooting Mankey straight to the ground.

Luna was unfazed. "Focus Energy, then Karate Chop!"

Mankey quickly flipped himself back onto his feet and took a moment to focus his power into his hands. As soon as that was done, he leapt into the trees again, darting about in blurs of speed. Ash couldn't help but grin at the display of speed. Mankey was a young fighter, that much was obvious, but he certainly knew how to use the terrain around him.

Gawain made a chittering hiss as Mankey came down and smashed the Karate Chop into his head, then delivered a second one to his wing. Gawain responded by once again biting Mankey's hand and tossing the monkey back to the ground.

"Earth Power!"

Gawain dove for the ground and his wings vibrated intensely for a second before the earth beneath Mankey's feet erupted in a burst of energy. The fighting type was repelled into a tree where he cringed from pain, giving Silver an opportunity to attack again. "Dragon Breath!"

Gawain blasted Mankey with the emerald fire again and this time, the fighting type stayed down. Mankey was trying to get back up, but it was obvious to Ash's eyes that he'd had it.

"That's enough!" Ash ordered. "Mankey can't keep battling anymore. Silver takes the round."

Luna nodded and walked over to the exhausted fighting type. "You did a good job, Mankey. Take a break now, okay?"

Mankey just huffed and leaned back against the tree, trying to catch his breath. Luna smiled at Silver, who had knelt beside Gawain to praise him. "He's pretty strong."

Silver smirked back. "Yeah, but I gotta give it to Mankey for taking advantage of the trees. It's hard for Gawain to hover around in this thick cover."

"If Mankey had a few extra weeks of training under his belt, I think the fight could've gone either way," Ash said honestly as he approached Luna and the tired fighting type. He fished an Oran berry out of his jacket and offered it to Mankey, who took it greedily. He tossed another one to Silver, who caught it and gave the treat to Gawain while Ash appraised the dragon. "Gawain is pretty strong though. I think he's probably about as powerful as Spectre or my Dratini, Jasmine. It's hard to tell though since he couldn't maneuver very well here in the forest."

"He's best with sound attacks," Silver revealed. "But I didn't think it'd be a good idea to start using stuff like Sonic Boom or Bug Buzz in the forest. Too many Beedrill."

"Good call," Ash agreed. "It'll be easier to spar once we're out in the open."

He gauged the light of the sun for a moment before making a decision. "I think that's actually enough battling for tonight. If you guys want to practice some moves, we can do that in moderation."

"I'm in!" Luna exclaimed. "Cinder!"

The fire type only huffed with all the excitement of a sleepy cat as he dragged himself to his feet, resigned to his fate.

* * *

"AHHHHHHH!"

Ash was yanked from his dreams by a scream that made him sit bolt-upright in his sleeping bag. From the looks of things, the entire camp had woken up due to the screech and whipped their heads around wildly to find the source.

Another shriek alerted them that the culprit was Luna, who was still in her sleeping bag. She too was sitting up and staring at something small on the dark blue fabric. Her eyes were wide as she pointed at it with a shaky hand.

Ash took a solid three seconds to observe what was on her sleeping bag before he blurted his first thought out. "Did you just scream at a Weedle?"

"YES!" She yelled, causing Pyro to huff in annoyance and bury his head beneath one of his large wings. The rest of Ash's team and Cinder looked entirely unimpressed by the display.

Silver rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes and stared at the tiny bug that was frozen in place on Luna's sleeping bag, right over her feet. "Are you scared of bug Pokemon or something? Weedle are usually pretty docile. Just go back to sleep. It's barely dawn…"

"No, no, no!" Luna gasped, still pointing at the bug type insistently. "Look at it!"

Ash did as she requested for another ten seconds before he shrugged. "Okay. What should I be seeing?"

"Isn't the color weird?" She demanded. "It looks brighter than the other Weedle we saw yesterday!"

Ash and Silver observed the insect for a little while, but neither really saw it. The latter of the two boys squinted half-heartedly at the bug. "Maybe, but it's hard to tell in this lighting. What, you think it's got the Shiny gene or something?"

"I'm sure of it!" Luna replied fervently. "I'm gonna catch it!"

"Knock yourself out," Ash sighed, falling back onto his sleeping bag. Nope, he wouldn't be sleeping now that he was awake. With a groan, the boy forced himself to his feet. "You've got a pokeball this time, right?"

"Of course I do," she said, slowly reaching for her backpack next to the bag. The Weedle in question didn't appear to be alarmed and just watched her. They weren't known for being especially keen as bug types went, but that was mostly because all Weedle were babies. Like Caterpie and certain other bug types, their time in their base form was incredibly short. Had this Weedle hatched today, it would be a Kakuna in just under two weeks, if not less depending on how much food it got.

Luna extracted an empty pokeball from her backpack and slowly leaned forward over her sleeping bag, extending the device in her hand towards Weedle. Again, the small insect just watched her curiously and in fact did nothing until she was right in its face. The only action it took was to press its face against the pokeball to see if it was edible. That, of course, triggered the device to activate and sucked the little bug into the pokeball. It hardly put up a fight and was captured after about three or four seconds of wriggling.

"Yay!" Luna cheered, pumping a fist. "I got it!"

"Yup, you caught a Weedle," Ash yawned, covering his mouth with a hand. "You'll be Champion tomorrow with that on your team."

The girl only grinned at him slyly. "You'll be envious later when you see that it really does have the Shiny gene! I'll make you eat those words!"

Since she'd gone and woken everyone up, they just got an early start that morning. Ash taught the new trainers how to go about getting things done in the morning; cleaning up the campsite, getting breakfast ready for them and their teams, and so forth. Of course, while their teams were eating, Luna released the Weedle she'd captured so it could eat as well and they could get a better look at it.

Ash had his Pokedex out and pulled up Weedle's page, then tapped on the "forms" tab. It pulled up an image of a normal Weedle and a Weedle with the Shiny gene.

"Well?" Luna asked anxiously.

He squinted at the images and then at Luna's Weedle. Now that he was awake and actually took more than a second to observe the bug, (who was stuffing its face in a can of Pokemon food) it…actually kind of looked like the Shiny gene Weedle in the Pokedex, but it was still hard to tell. Weedle's Shiny form was literally the same as its normal form, except the carapace was a slightly brighter yellow.

Luna's Weedle looked brighter than normal, but Ash wasn't sure if that was just the lighting here in the forest or if it actually had the Shiny gene.

"I can't tell," he muttered, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, yeah, its carapace is brighter than most other Weedle I've seen, but I can't tell if it's actually got the Shiny gene or not. It's not like there's no physical variation in Weedle, you know? Some are lighter or darker than others, even if it's just a little bit."

"I'm sure it is," Luna insisted. "You should've seen it when it fell onto my bag! Right before the sun came up and it was still dark out, I swear it was almost glowing, it was so light!"

Silver took Ash's Pokedex for a moment to give his own two cents. "I can see it, kind of. And actually, the odds of it having the Shiny gene aren't terrible. Beedrill breed in quantity; they literally lay thousands of eggs in a single sitting since most of the offspring get taken out by bird Pokemon. This forest has a number of Beedrill swarms and each one produces hundreds of thousands of eggs every year. The really big hives might even lay over a million. With those odds, there are probably a few Weedle with the Shiny gene crawling around in Viridian Forest. I bet most are picked off by bird Pokemon or other predators though since they're a little easier to spot."

Ash inclined his head, conceding the point. "I could buy that. If this one really does have the Shiny gene, it's lucky it fell onto Luna. A predator probably would have nabbed it this morning otherwise. It's in one of the more open areas of the forest."

Luna pulled out her Pokedex and pointed it at Weedle. "Let's see…"

 _Weedle, the Hairy Pokemon. It is often found in forests. It has a sharp, toxic barb of around two inches on the top of its head. Its brightly-colored body is intended to warn off enemies. Weedle has an extremely acute sense of smell thanks to its proboscis and uses it to identify its favorite kind of leaves._

 _This Weedle is female and knows the moves: Poison Sting, String Shot, and Bug Bite. Its ability is Shield Dust, which prevents certain attacks from leaving a status effect on Weedle._

"It's a good thing it's female," Ash remarked. When Luna gave him a questioning look, he emphasized. "Beedrill have different lifespans depending on their gender. Most males only live about five to ten years. Females live a lot longer than that- I think thirty to forty years. Maybe even older."

"They've evolved a hive system that changes the very biology between the genders," Silver added. "Males are usually soldiers or workers- they serve the females and they're a bit smaller as well. Females take up the role of Queens and lay eggs, but maybe because they don't fight as often as they males, they've got larger poison glands and the venom is more potent. Both genders are excellent battlers depending on how you train them."

Silver swiped from Weedle's page to its evolved form and grunted. "If it's a Shiny, you'll know when it evolves. A normal Kakuna has the same color scheme as Weedle, but it's Shiny form is bright green."

Luna grinned widely. "So we just gotta wait until it evolves! Piece of cake! All Weedle do is eat and sleep!"

"It looks like it's doing plenty of eating," Ash said dryly. Weedle's entire head was buried in the can of Pokemon food as it ate frantically. "It's making me hungry. Let's have breakfast and then we'll get a move on."

* * *

Traveling through Viridian Forest went smoothly. Most of the Pokemon in the area were at pretty low levels, anyways, providing Luna plenty of opportunities to train Cinder and Mankey. She didn't train Weedle since it was still quite young, instead opting to let the little bug eat her fill of Pokemon food and occasionally leaves Luna picked from random trees or bushes. Silver seemed keen on catching more Pokemon for his own team, but he didn't find any that interested him in the forest.

Before they knew it, they'd left the forest and found Pewter City waiting for them. It was late afternoon by then and the sun was about to set when they spotted the Pokemon Center.

"Yay~ Civilization!" Luna bounced on her heels. "I call first dibs on the shower!"

Silver let out a sigh of relief. "I can't wait to sleep on an actual bed. Sleeping bags are great, but nothing tops a real mattress."

Ash snorted in amusement. "If you guys think the forest was rough, I can't wait to drag you through the wilderness between Celadon and Fuchsia. It took me nearly two weeks to get through there."

Ignoring their wide eyes, like they couldn't decide if he was joking or not, Ash led the way to the Pokemon Center. Giovanni had sent him a message on his PokeNav the night after their battle with the time and place for Ash's meeting with Lysandre. It seemed as though the man in question was going to be at the Pewter Gym tomorrow in the morning.

 _Lysandre is a man with an eye for talent. He's agreed to meet you going on my recommendation, but you will still be tested. In this line of work, you must earn respect with your own strength and intellect. Expect the unexpected._

At least Giovanni had warned him about that much, though Ash still wasn't totally sure what he was getting himself into.

"Ash?" Luna tapped his shoulder, jerking him out of his thoughts. "You good?"

"Yeah, just thinking," he replied. "How do you feel about tackling the gym tomorrow?"

Luna grinned. "I think I've got a good shot at it with Cinder and Mankey! I mean, you did it with a Charmander and a Sandile, right? I can do that."

"Pyro knew Metal Claw, y'know," Ash pointed out. "Cinder doesn't have any moves that'll be very effective against rock types. You'll need a different strategy."

"I know. I'll win," she assured him.

He shrugged. "If you're sure. Training tonight, or do we want to sleep?"

"I'd like to train a bit," Silver said. "Gawain didn't really get to battle much in the forest."

"Speaking of which, what are you going to do about your Gym Battle, Silver?" Luna asked. "You've only got one Pokemon with you. I mean, Gawain's strong, but he can't solo a Gym Leader's team, can he?"

"I'd like to think he could, but I'm not sure how I stack up against Brock," he admitted. "I might have to skip this battle until I catch some more Pokemon and come back to Pewter at some other time to get the badge."

Ash nodded. "That might be a good idea. Anyhow, let's get a room and then we can get some training done."

Luna pumped a fist enthusiastically. "Yes!"

He smirked to himself. As eager as ever.

* * *

The next morning, Ash led the way to the Pewter Gym. It was just a little after ten o'clock, but Giovanni had said Lysandre wanted to meet early since he had other things to take care of throughout the day.

However, upon arriving at the gym, they found another kid guarding the entrance. Ash didn't recall seeing him before, but he looked vaguely familiar for some reason. He was just a bit taller than Ash, with wild red hair covering his head in spikes. His skin was tanned from traveling under the sun and his clothing, a simple white tank top and black shorts, were ragged and frayed at the edges. Around his torso was a sash of pokeballs, mostly the generic red and white ones, but Ash caught sight of an Ultra Ball and a mottled black and green pokeball he didn't recognize.

The kid watched them approach silently through light brown eyes, but he moved to block the door before they could reach it. "Sorry scrubs, no wannabe's at the gym today."

Ash raised an eyebrow. He could already tell this kid was going to irritate him before too long. "I'm here to meet with Lysandre."

"Are you?" The kid looked Ash up and down before smirking. "I don't think you are. You look like a total noob. How long have you been traveling, a week? Those clothes aren't even scratched up a little."

Yeah, he was definitely starting to feel irritated now. "The clothes are new, but that's besides the point. I'm supposed to meet Lysandre here at ten. Let me through or I'll be late."

The kid sneered, reaching up to pick off one of the pokeballs from the sash around his torso. "Beat me and I'll think about it."

Ash enlarged the pokeball containing Douse, offering the kid a glare. "I don't have time for this. _Move_."

"Make me."

"Alright, that's enough."

The trainers paused and looked back at the door to the gym, which had been cracked open slightly. Ash recognized Brock, who was leaning against the door frame, but not the other man who called to them. He was about average height, with silver hair and gray eyes. Everything about him spoke "high class" from the immaculate suit he wore to the jeweled pin in his left breast pocket.

The man gave Ash's would-be opponent a slightly annoyed look. "Benga, I told you to let in the trainer Lysandre was supposed to meet immediately. We've got work to do- save the fighting for later."

Benga rolled his eyes. "Whatever. What about the other scrubs?"

The man looked at Silver and Luna, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but the gym is closed for this morning."

"They're actually my friends," Ash interrupted. "They travel with me."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Well…ah, Silver. I thought I recognized you. What are you doing out here in Pewter City?"

He seemed surprised to see Silver, but the red-haired boy only nodded. "Father let me start traveling. I'm training with Ash for the time being."

"I see," the man said thoughtfully. He considered Luna in silence for another second before shrugging. "Very well. You two can come in as well, but you'll have to let myself and Lysandre speak with Ash alone when we need to."

Ash nodded. "Thank you."

Benga sneered at Ash on the way in, but he only glared back silently. Maybe he'd give this kid the fight he wanted later.

Brock held up a hand for a high-five as Ash entered the gym. "Hey, man. How's it going?"

Ash returned the gesture with a resounding _clap_. "Pretty good. I'm about ready to give the rest of the gyms in Kanto a run for their money."

"Good deal," Brock nodded approvingly. "How about a match once you finish up your chat with the big shots?"

He smiled and glanced over his shoulder at Silver and Luna. "Maybe after them. They've been thinking about challenging you to get their first badges."

"Oh yeah?" The Gym Leader considered the pair. "I hope Ash told you about my team."

Luna blinked in confusion. "Why? Doesn't that put you at a disadvantage."

"Of course it does," Brock grinned. "That's half the fun. I enjoy a challenge."

Ash paused briefly in his step as he caught sight of another man sitting in the stands, scrolling over something on what looked like a very high-tech tablet or something. Even sitting down, he was obviously quite tall, with flaming red hair and a well-trimmed beard. He wore an expensive looking black suit with a white fur collar, dark gloves, and dark dress shoes.

He was willing to bet his bottom dollar this was the man he'd been sent to meet.

The man glanced up sharply as they approached, casually slipping the tablet into one of his back pockets whilst rising to his feet. He was easily over six feet tall and from where Ash stood, his appearance was both authoritative and businesslike.

"You're Ash," he stated simply, addressing him without hesitation.

Ash nodded, holding out his hand once they reached the man a moment later. "You're Lysandre, right?"

"I am," Lysandre confirmed. He looked Ash up and down. "I should introduce myself properly. My name is Lysandre Fluer-de-lis. I am the C.E.O of Lysandre Labs and Industries as well as a partner with the Pokemon League in their science department."

 _How was he supposed to compare to that again?_

"I'm Ash Ketchum," he replied. "I'm a trainer competing to win the Indigo League next year."

Lysandre's lips twitched up in a brief smile. He glanced at Brock, Silver, and Luna for a moment. "Gym challengers, yes? You can have a battle in the meantime, if you wish. Most of this conversation is going to be pretty dull adult technicalities and such."

Brock nodded, gesturing Luna and Silver towards the battlefield. "Alright, who's up first?"

"Me!" Luna declared with a wide grin. Silver smirked in amusement. Benga merely huffed and walked to the far end of the stands to get away from them all.

"Have a seat, Ash," Lysandre gestured to a spot beside him as he sat back down.

Ash nodded and took the offered seat, feeling slightly awkward about it. This was all a bit alien to him. Before he could even open his mouth, Lysandre was talking again.

"From what I saw of your battle with Giovanni, you'll certainly make it to the Indigo League," the man remarked. "I wouldn't be surprised if you made it to the Quarter-Finals."

He blinked in surprise. "You saw that?"

"When Giovanni recommended you to me, he sent me a tape of the battle between you two. You certainly got both his and my attention. A trainer for only six months going near-even with Kanto's strongest Gym Leader in a one-on-one? That's no easy feat for even veteran trainers."

Ash refused to let the surge of pride he felt get the better of him. He wasn't here for that. "Thank you. We still lost, though."

"A few more months of dedicated training and that Charizard of yours will be able to do it," Lysandre assured him. "If Giovanni didn't think you were capable of that, he wouldn't have suggested you meet with me. As it happens, your battle with him was enough to convince me of your strength as a trainer. That's not what I'm meeting you here for today."

The man who had let them into the gym moved to stand in front of them. "My name is Steven. I'm a member of the League working in coordination with Lysandre for scientific investigation and exploration studies. I'll be a sort of third-party for your interview. You've technically already been accepted into the same group as an asset trainer on Lysandre and Giovanni's recommendation, but trainers can only be cemented into that position with the recommendation of an unbiased source."

"Do I have to battle you?" Ash asked.

Steven smiled. "Not quite. I also saw your battle against Giovanni- I'm aware that you're talented for your age. No, my role is going to be keeping track of you on a job to see if you can handle the work we do in the field. Assuming that you do well, I can approve you for official League work. Most of your jobs will be done in Kanto since you're competing in the Indigo Tournament."

"Though at some point, I'd like for you to visit my labs in Kalos," Lysandre interjected. "I'm working on a scientific study with the Pokemon Professor there, Augustus Sycamore."

"Professor Sycamore?" He probably shouldn't have been surprised since Sycamore was a scientist in his own right. It made sense that he and Lysandre would be acquaintances at least, if not partners. "I was planning on meeting him again in Kalos at some point before the Indigo League."

"Oh, you've already met him?" Lysandre asked in surprise.

"I met him last month at Professor Oak's lab in Pallet Town," Ash explained. "Him and Professor Kukui from Alola."

"Well, that makes things much simpler for us," Lysandre nodded approvingly. "If you've already made the Professor's acquaintance, then things will move much more smoothly when you visit Kalos."

A loud bang got their attention for a moment and Ash blinked when he realized that Luna's Mankey had just smashed Brock's Geodude into the dirt. He winced at the crack on Geodude's rocky hide, but knew the blow wasn't serious. It would regenerate soon enough.

Steven seemed rather entertained by the battle, but it didn't stop him from talking. "You'll be doing a simple survey job for starters. I'll send you a briefing on your PokeNav, a map of the area, and an outline of what you're to do. As I said, it's a simple job- you'll be going through Mt. Moon to find the cause of some unusual events we've gotten wind of."

"Unusual events?" Ash echoed, wincing slightly as he watched Brock's Onix headbutt Mankey into the wall. Luna had just lost her first Pokemon.

"Yes. It's in one of the deeper caves of Mt. Moon. There have been reports from the trainers coming and going through the mountain- unusual noises in the deeper caverns that has the local Pokemon on edge. Your job is to investigate the sounds, stop them if you can, and report back to me on the situation."

"Since this is technically an official League request, you'll be allowed to operate with the same authority as a League operative- that is, your Pokemon carry capacity limit will be temporarily removed so you can bring more than six Pokemon with you if you wish it. Should you succeed in the survey to my satisfaction and you're brought onto the team officially, you'll be able to retain that privilege while you travel."

That sounded easy enough. It wasn't like Mt. Moon was known for crazy powerful Pokemon, but Ash wondered suspiciously if Team Rocket had something to do with this. It wouldn't be the first time they raided the mountain, though this seemed a bit too… _tame_ for them. Well, he was more interested in the prospect of having more of his team along for this ride. He hadn't expected his carry capacity limit to be removed for this, but it was a nice bonus.

"Ah, it looks like it's over," Lysandre murmured.

He realized that Luna had called the fight off after seeing how ineffective Cinder's flames were against Brock's Onix. It was a smart call. Cinder didn't have access to the steel type moves Pyro had known when he fought the rock type way back when. There was no need for Cinder to take more damage if Luna realized the outcome was certain.

Lysandre and Steven stood up then, each taking a moment to shake Ash's hand.

"Good luck on your job, Ash," Lysandre nodded to the boy.

Steven smiled. "He'll do fine, but the best of luck to you, regardless."

"Thanks," Ash replied, feeling a little out-of-place with all the professionalism.

The two men left after Steven got Ash's PokeNav number, with Benga tagging along behind them. Ash felt like that had gone well. Mostly, he was glad that Benga was out of his hair. The other kid annoyed him a lot for some reason.

He made his way to the battlefield and cracked his knuckles in anticipation. Brock had recalled Onix and was now tossing a Luxury Ball up and down in his right hand. The Pewter Gym Leader grinned, tapping the button on the device to enlarge it. "One on one. You ready to go?"

Ash pulled the Ultra Ball from off his belt and enlarged it as well, mirroring Brock's grin with his own. "I'm always ready."

"Good!" Brock wound his arm back to throw the Luxury Ball. "I've been looking forward to this for a while! Sic 'em, Rampardos!"

Ash's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the fossil Pokemon, which he'd only seen in Professor Oak's laboratory. If he remembered right, Rampardos was a temperamental rock type with some serious power behind it's huge skull. Daisy had warned him about how powerful they were once before.

This one was definitely in its prime. It stood eight feet tall and had a body that was probably twenty feet if he was gauging it correctly. The skull was enormous, more than making up for its tiny hands, and the thick tail waved back and forth with deceptive ease. It grunted, studying Ash with dark red eyes, and pawed the ground like a bull preparing to charge.

He refused to be intimidated. Ash had kind of wanted to battle one of these, anyway. He hurled the Ultra Ball onto the field, releasing Rhydon.

Rhydon blinked at the sight of Rampardos and roared, flexing his huge arms and spinning his drill threateningly. Rampardos growled back, lowering its skull and lining it up with the enemy rock type.

"Stone Edge!" Ash ordered.

Rhydon's drill spun as it lifted one foot and stomped on the field, triggering a line of pointed rocks to jut out towards Rampardos.

Brock merely grinned. "Iron Head!"

Rampardos' skull glowed metallic silver in a flash as it rushed the Stone Edge attack with surprising speed, pulverizing it as though it wasn't even there. Ash couldn't believe how easily it managed to destroy the move and Rhydon looked equally surprised.

"Earthquake!" He countered.

Rhydon recovered quickly from his surprise and leapt up, landing on the ground with terrific force. A shock wave tore through the earth, shifting the field and making Rampardos' footing unstable. With a bellow, the beast tripped and landed harshly on its skull, though it didn't even looked dazed by the impact.

Ash jumped on the chance. "Drill Run!"

Rhydon didn't move.

His eyes widened as instead, Rhydon stomped on the ground, triggering another Stone Edge attack that smashed into Rampardos from below. The rock type roared in pain, as it was launched backwards, but scrambled back to its feet.

He was annoyed that Rhydon hadn't done as he asked, but didn't focus on it. "Rock Blast!"

Rhydon did listen this time. He opened his jaws, spitting a stream of small stones at Rampardos from afar. Rampardos easily ran to avoid them, using a few of the larger boulders on the field as cover.

Brock decided to pull a wild card. "Blizzard!"

Rampardos leapt onto one of the boulders and unleashed a gale of icy wind from its jaws, which quickly blew over Rhydon. It wasn't the strongest ice type move Ash had ever seen, but Rhydon didn't do well in cold temperatures and Brock knew it. If he could slow Rhydon down even a little, it would give Rampardos an advantage.

"Use Stone Edge to defend," Ash ordered.

Again, Rhydon refused. He just crossed his arms in front of him to ward off the blast of cold air, snarling in irritation. Ash felt his eyebrow twitch.

Brock changed back to full-on offense. "Iron Head!"

Rampardos charged again. Now Rhydon used Stone Edge to try and throw his opponent off again, but he was already a little more sluggish with his core temperature lowered. Rampardos easily wound around the stone blades and closed the distance.

"Hammer Arm!" Ash snapped.

Rhydon curled his arm back and met Rampardos' charge with the fighting type move, but Rampardos' rush was incredible. It blew aside the Hammer Arm as though it weren't there and crashed its skull into Rhydon's chest, lifting the rock type into the air and hurling him away onto his back with a mighty crash.

Rhydon roared in pain and fury, rolling onto his belly and pushing himself back onto his feet. He glared at the Rampardos furiously, nostrils flaring, and unleashed another round of Rock Blast at his enemy. This time, Rampardos kept up Iron Head and just lowered its skull, causing the Rock Blast to bounce harmlessly off the ridiculously powerful dome on its head.

Ash grit his teeth. Rhydon wouldn't last against Rampardos if he played defensively like that. That one Iron Head had cracked the stone armor on Rhydon's chest with ease. Another blow like that and it would be over.

"Bulldoze and Stone Edge!" Ash ordered.

Rhydon slammed his tail into the ground, triggering a series of shock waves. They didn't tear the earth apart like Earthquake did, but they made it hard for anything to move without losing its footing. Rampardos snorted uneasily at the tremors and spread its legs out, making it easier for it to balance. But before it could get used to the shaking, a blade of stone punched out of the ground from below it and smashed into its belly.

Rampardos was forced back several meters from the blow, letting out a wheezing growl as the breath was knocked from its lungs, but it retained its footing. It glared at Rhydon with annoyance and the same look was returned from the mutual party.

"Rock Blast!" Ash commanded.

Brock went on the defensive now. "Ancient Power, shield!"

Rampardos snorted again and its eyes glowed blue as Rhydon unleashed another barrage of stones upon it. Before the volley could reach it, the rock at its feet groaned and levitated into the air, forming a simple barrier between Rampardos and the attack. Rhydon's drill spun in irritation at how easily his attack was deflected.

"Zen Headbutt!"

Rampardos charged right through its own shield as it went on the offensive once again. Ash decided that it would be better to keep it at a distance and whittle away at its stamina for a bit. Rampardos was too strong for a direct confrontation, but it wasn't very durable itself.

"Bulldoze!" Ash ordered. "Keep it back with Stone Edge!"

Rhydon refused to move. Ash snapped as Rampardos closed the distance. "Rhydon, use Bulldoze!"

Rhydon ignored him completely and instead braced himself for the inevitable impact, which left a crack in the armor on his left arm and sent him skidding back several feet. The rock type roared, goading on Rampardos with all the aggression he had.

Rampardos was only too willing to smash him again.

Ash almost couldn't watch as Rampardos pulverized the armored hide of Rhydon's chest, arms, and shoulders several times. The wounds would regenerate with some food and rest he knew, but Rhydon's stone hide should not be taking damage like that. Not when it could be avoided.

What was Rhydon even thinking?

By the time Rampardos backed off a bit and lined itself up for a finishing charge, Rhydon's left arm was hanging loosely and he looked far too beaten up for the cockiness in his eyes. He roared again, daring Rampardos to attack again.

Brock looked rather perplexed on his side of the field. "Everything okay over there, Ash?"

He wasn't even sure how to answer that, he was so annoyed with Rhydon's behavior. But as irritated as he was, he didn't want to see Rhydon get totally pulverized before they went on their trip with Steven. He reached for the Ultra Ball on his belt to recall the disobedient rock type just as Rampardos began to rush Rhydon again.

Ash blinked at the sight of a silver orb gathering in Rhydon's right hand, growing in brightness and intensity. Was that Metal Burst?

The distraction made him hesitate too long to recall Rhydon. Rampardos made impact with an Iron Head just as Rhydon slammed the Metal Burst attack into Rampardos' skull.

He was surprised by how much force was packed behind Metal Burst. Ash recalled that its strength increased based on the amount of damage the user had taken while charging it, but he'd never actually seen Rhydon use it before. The power behind it was commendable, but Rhydon was just too hurt for a counter like that to matter at this point- especially when their opponent was ridiculously powerful.

Maybe if Rhydon had driven Metal Burst into Rampardos' chest or one of the softer spots it would have done more damage, but targeting the skull was the worst decision he could have made. That head was armored naturally to an absurd degree on top of being strengthened by momentum and Iron Head.

The concussive blast from Metal Burst did manage to disorient Rampardos, but its attack overwhelmed Rhydon and knocked it out with a decisive smash.

Ash recalled Rhydon before he could slump to the ground and took a deep breath to keep his irritation under control. They could have won that if Rhydon had done as he'd ordered. Rampardos wasn't that big of a threat unless it got close. If they had kept it at a distance with Bulldoze and Rock Blast, Rhydon could have easily worn it down to the point that they might have won.

Daring Rampardos to attack him over and over so that he could get in a single counterattack when he was too weak to fight was never going to work.

"You did well," Ash managed to sigh as he stared at the Ultra Ball in his hands, and he did mean that. Despite Rhydon's disobedience, he would grudgingly admit that it took an insane amount of fortitude to receive blows from an enemy like Rampardos over and over again. He was still more annoyed than he cared to admit by that battle, but it had happened and that was that. Rhydon would either learn from this lesson or he wouldn't be battling again until he did.

"New Pokemon of yours?"

Ash almost jumped. Brock had come over without him noticing. Rampardos stood beside him, leaning down to lick at one of the wounds on its stony chest. Ash nodded, letting out a long breath to alleviate more of his frustration.

"I've been working with him for just a few weeks, but I guess he doesn't respect me enough to listen to all my commands yet," Ash replied, shaking his head.

"Rock types are as stubborn as their name suggests," Brock reassured him. "I speak from experience, of course. Give Rhydon some time and it'll learn eventually."

Ash smiled wryly and held his hand out. "I hope so. Thanks, Brock. I'll give you a better battle next time."

"I'm holding you to that," Brock said, shaking his hand.

* * *

Silver took a bite out of the sandwich he'd gotten from the Pokemon Center cafeteria as he listened to Ash talk about the job he had. "Well that won't be too hard. We're going through Mt. Moon anyways."

Ash nodded. "It wasn't too difficult the first time I went through it. Lots of Zubat, a few Geodude and Paras, the occasional Sandshrew…honestly, this is a lot easier than I expected."

"It makes sense though, right?" Luna asked, sipping from her drink. "I mean, your trainer profile says you've only been at this for six months and that you've earned four badges. The League can't just throw some crazy mission at you. If it goes wrong, they'll get a lot of criticism for hiring someone who wasn't ready for the task they put him up to."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he replied sarcastically.

She smirked at him. "You know I'm right and that's why you're annoyed."

"I'm not annoyed," he denied. "The only reason I'm not more excited is because that Benga guy was irritating."

"He _was_ rather condescending," Silver admitted.

"Oh, forget him," Luna waved their irritation away. "His hair looked stupid, anyways."

Ash tried and failed to hide a snort. "True."

Luna grinned. "So! On to Mt. Moon now, right?"

He nodded. "I don't see any reason why we should hang around Pewter any longer."

"Then let's get packed up and get moving!" She exclaimed.

"Go get your stuff ready," Ash told them. He'd finished eating lunch already. "I've gotta give Professor Oak a call before we go."

* * *

Ash took a seat at one of the phone booths and called the Professor. He hoped that Steven and Lysandre had already taken the carry capacity limit off of his trainer profile, or else this was going to be a little awkward.

He dialed in the number and pressed the call button, waiting just a few seconds before someone answered the phone. Professor Oak looked at him from the other side of the screen and smiled. "Ash! Fancy getting a call from you today."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Hey, Professor. Something happen?"

"You could say that," Oak nodded. "Actually, Jasmine just finished her shed this morning. Her scales are still soft, but if you want, you could bring her along with you again. Anyways, what can I do for you?"

"Erm," Ash fidgeted in his seat. "I'd like to have Jasmine sent over and Sobek if you finished your study on him."

Oak gave him a curious stare and then switched his gaze to another screen to check something. Ash had a feeling he was looking at his trainer profile. The Professor blinked in surprise after a few moments and then glanced back at Ash. "You haven't gone and gotten yourself into more trouble, have you?"

Ash smiled. "I don't think so."

"That's reassuring," Oak chuckled. "But very well, I'll send Jasmine and Sobek to you. I'm actually rather grateful this happened. Sobek's gotten fed up with our study and I had the funniest feeling yesterday he was going to dig a hole and not come out."

The boy smirked. "That sounds like something Sobek would do. Mind sending them over to me? We're about to leave for Mt. Moon."

"Of course. Remember, Jasmine just shed, so only light training for the rest of the week and _absolutely_ no battling. Sobek's neck is doing better, but keep an eye on it and tell me immediately if something seems out of place."

"I will," Ash promised. He hesitated for a moment. "How's Gyarados?"

Oak's smile softened. "She's doing much better. She ate a lot this morning. Her appetite is healthy and her muscles seem to be getting stronger. I still advise against training her for a good long while, but I think given another two months, she could start to travel with you."

He sighed in relief. "That's good. I'd like to meet her when she's awake again."

"I know. I'll keep you posted on her situation. Now, let me go find those reptiles of yours. Sobek's probably basking somewhere and I'm sure Jasmine is trying to break into my Yache berry supply."

Ash laughed. That sure sounded like them.

* * *

Just like the first time he'd come through this area, the trainers between Pewter City and Mt. Moon were all rookies. Luna took on most of them, giving Cinder and Mankey a chance to battle some more. All were easy prey for the two young Pokemon despite their inexperience.

Silver didn't battle anyone, but he let Gawain out so the ground type could get some exercise and keep an eye out for any wild Pokemon that might intrigue them. Ash himself had let Spectre out (though the ghost had immediately slipped into his shadow to hitch a ride) and Arctus so the cub could get some exercise.

Mostly everyone's attention was on Luna's Weedle, who was beginning to show the first signs of forming a chrysalis- she had gotten quite chunky from eating so much for the last several days and was starting to spew the silk she needed for evolution.

Luna was carrying Weedle in her arms at the moment, watching the insect curl herself over the girl's wrist. The fact that Weedle wasn't making much of an effort to eat or even move at this point just went to show how close she was to evolving.

On top of Weedle nearing evolution, Ash could tell that Cinder was getting bigger and more aggressive. He didn't know as much about the Litten evolutionary line, but he had a feeling that the cat was pretty close to evolving as well. That made sense- Pyro had evolved around here back when he was a Charmander.

Luna had had no trouble teaching the cat Fire Fang and Bite over the last couple of days. Frankly, Cinder made learning the moves look so easy, he almost seemed bored with them. He was just growing that quickly at this point. If Ash had to guess, he figured that Cinder would evolve before they reached Cerulean City. It was just one more thing to look forward to.

He had no idea about Mankey. They grew more slowly, (as most fighting types tended to) so Ash thought it might take a few months of hard training for him to evolve into a Primeape.

"Ah!"

Luna's exclamation grabbed the attention of both boys as well as their Pokemon. The girl had squeaked in surprise because Weedle had begun to spew silk over her body. She hurriedly set the bug type down and watched as the process of evolution began.

"Here we go!" Luna bounced on her heels excitedly.

After a few seconds, Weedle was completely encased by sticky silk. As soon as that stage was complete, her body glowed brightly with evolutionary energy. Her larval form thickened into a pupa and her carapace became hard and stiff. The process was quick and as fast as it began, the evolution was over, culminating in a burst of light that fled from the insect's body.

Ash had seen Kakuna before. Luna and Silver had also seen plenty of them in Viridian Forest, but this one was undeniably different from the others thanks to the lime green color of its carapace. It was a visible difference to the pale yellow shade of most Kakuna.

There was no more questioning it. The bug type had the Shiny gene.

"Yes!" Luna squealed, crouching down to pick up the cocoon Pokemon and hold her carefully.

"You were right," Ash admitted, thumping Luna's shoulder with his hand. "Lucky you."

"Of course I was right," she replied, grinning widely. "But now I've gotta make I train her right so that she'll be really extraordinary! Just you watch! She'll be the strongest Beedrill ever!"

Ash honestly wanted to see her do that. He'd kind of pegged Beedrill as one of the weaker species for a while until he heard from Leaf about Koga's apparent beast of a Beedrill. It just went to show that any Pokemon could surprise you if they were trained correctly.

Luna was smart and Ash was there to help her if she needed it. He had a feeling that Kakuna, once she evolved, would definitely become one of the cornerstones of Luna's team after she was trained.

"Right," Ash looked up at the looming rock wall ahead of them. "There's a Pokemon Center at the base of the mountain. We'll rest there for the night, then we'll hit the tunnels."

* * *

Mt. Moon's tunnels were just as Ash remembered them, except this time the Pokemon were just as active further in as they were at the entrance. Flocks of Zubat clung to the ceiling and flew about whenever they were disturbed. Cinder, Mankey, and Arctus got a fair amount of battles in with the bats, either driving them off or knocking out the really determined ones.

Ash had his PokeNav out to look at the map Steven had sent him. They were on-course, searching for the entrance to the deeper caves off the main tunnel.

It took several hours of walking, but eventually they found a large gap in the rock wall that led to the deeper caves. Ash checked his PokeNav, which marked their location via GPS, and nodded. They were right on top of it.

"This is it," he confirmed to his friends. "Down there."

Silver looked at Gawain, who was crawling along the ground beside him. "Hear anything?"

Gawain cocked his insect-like head and his antennae vibrated for a few seconds. The Vibrava's wings shuffled and he chittered something to Silver, who then glanced back at Ash. "He's definitely picking up some sound waves out of the ordinary."

Ash led the way into the deeper caves, using his flashlight to check that the path was safe. It was downhill, but looked stable enough, though the walls seemed more cramped than those of the main tunnel.

As it turned out, the new tunnel widened frequently into larger openings where they would see Pokemon hiding. Ash warily noted that their behavior was similar to the last time he'd been here, when the wild Pokemon were scared by Team Rocket's disturbances.

The further down they went, the more they began to hear some…odd noises. A deep, vibrating sound and then another, violent pounding noise. Whatever was making them didn't sound natural, at least not to Ash's ears.

They had reached a particularly large opening in the tunnel that was practically its own small cave when the sound became much louder. The echoes were starting to shake the trainers to their very bones, they were so strong. They ended up recalling all of their Pokemon (except for Spectre, who remained hidden in Ash's shadow) since their ears were so much more sensitive.

It was so loud, Silver and Luna didn't hear Ash shout at them to get down, so he tackled them instead.

The reason for said tackle swooped over them a moment later with a furious shriek. Ash lifted his head and glared up at the attacking Golbat, which didn't even bother landing and just spun around in the air to charge them again. He didn't blame the bat (it probably thought they were behind the ungodly noise in the cave) but he was also irritated by the constant shock of sound and really wanted to get this over with.

"Spectre!" Ash shouted over the blasts of sound. The ghost didn't have the same kind of hearing as the rest of his team, so he responded with ease to his trainer's command. Spectre flew out of Ash's shadow and launched a Ghost Flare at the Golbat, striking it clean in the body. The bat screamed angrily and retreated a ways, hissing, but Ash could already see it sizing them up for another attack.

Silver and Luna by now had scrambled back to their feet along with Ash and were watching their attack cautiously, but Silver reached for the pokeball containing Gawain and released the dragon type. Gawain's eyes immediately scrunched up in pain from the shock of sound coming from further inside the tunnel, but he focused on the Golbat above them as soon as Silver pointed it out to them.

"Dragon Breath!"

Gawain let loose a jet of green flame, but the Golbat dodged with ease and swooped towards him, mouth agape. The Vibrava pushed off the ground and fluttered out of the way. He wasn't nearly as fast as Golbat, but he could just shave away from the bites if he had to.

"Shadow Sneak!" Ash ordered.

Spectre was in his element in the dark cave, diving into the massive shadows around them and darting from one point of the rock to the other in the blink of an eye. He appeared above Golbat and slammed his mask into the bat's head, stunning the poison type for a moment.

Silver seized his chance. "Dragon Breath!"

Gawain blasted Golbat this time, rocketing the stunned poison type into the cave wall behind it with the force of the attack. Golbat remained pinned flat against the wall for a few moments, too stunned to move, and that gave Silver a chance to throw an empty pokeball at it.

Golbat was sucked into the pokeball, which clattered to the ground amidst the harsh noises in the cave and wriggled viciously for several seconds. Ash was almost positive the bat would break free, but then the device settled and clicked, showing that Golbat had been captured.

Silver recalled Gawain, then hurried over to retrieve the ball. It should have been a moment to celebrate, but there was no time. The ungodly sound was starting to drive them crazy and Ash very much wanted to shut down whatever the heck was making such a racket.

They ran down the tunnel and emerged into a massive cave- one even larger than the huge rest area for trainers where Ash had fought Team Rocket the last time he was here. They spotted the source of the terrible noise at the far wall and stopped in their tracks.

It was a single man with a large cart of equipment and a portable generator. He was currently using a jackhammer to pulverize part of the rock wall, the sound of which echoed painfully through the cave. Beside him was a power drill, a shovel, and a pickaxe, along with several other excavating tools. Lining the walls of the cave was a string of bright yellow lights so that they could see what was going on.

Ash marched over to the guy- there was no point in calling for him since it was terrible loud and the man had earmuffs over his head to protect his own hearing- and tapped his shoulder roughly. The man jerked away in surprise, spinning around and turning the jackhammer off.

He took the earmuffs off and stared at the three kids through thick glasses, looking exceptionally annoyed. "What do _you_ want?"

"That's my line!" Ash snapped. He was beyond irritated with this guy because his ears felt like they'd exploded three times over the course of their journey down here. "What are you doing? You're disturbing the wild Pokemon so much they can't even stay down here!"

"So?"

Ash's eyelid did _not_ twitch, he was sure of it. "What are you doing?"

"Not that it's any of your business," the man huffed. "But I'm excavating for fossils. and moon stones. I don't have time for kids. Shoo."

"Actually, no, you're not," Ash retorted. "I was sent here by a member of the League to find out what's been causing all this noise. A lot of trainers have been complaining about it and I was told to stop whatever it was. Sorry, but you've got to leave."

"Make me. Some bratty kid isn't going to stop me."

Silver's eyes narrowed. "If I remember right, Mt. Moon is a protected area. Digging here without a permit is definitely illegal. Even if you don't stop, we'll send the police out here to shut you down."

The man glared at Silver dangerously. "Careful, kid. You don't want to make adults angry. Stay out of my business or else."

That was the final straw as far as Ash was concerned. He sent out Pyro and Sobek.

The two enormous reptiles initially appeared to be curious as to why Ash had called them out, but they picked up on his anger and glared at the illegal miner, growls building up in their throats.

The miner fully turned to face them and reached for a pokeball on his own belt. "That's the way it's gonna be, huh? Fine, I'll play with you for a minute. After I beat you, you've got to leave and you don't say a word about what I'm doing down here."

Ash resisted the urge to ball his fist. "If I win, you leave and you don't come back. If you've got a problem with that, you can take it up with the League."

"Yeah, yeah," the man waved him off, not taking him seriously. Sure, the kid had some big, scary, Pokemon, but so what? He was just a kid.

The miner sent out a single Drillbur and pointed at Ash's Pokemon dismissively. "Knock them out. I don't care how."

The Drillbur looked at its trainer as though he were crazy, but it only sighed and charged the two reptiles. Ash wouldn't deny that his eyelid twitched this time out of annoyance for being dismissed so carelessly. "Pyro."

It was hardly even a fight. The Drillbur was in poor condition for battles- it was clear the miner didn't keep up with its nutritional needs to keep its muscles in top form. Ash felt bad that Drillbur had to take a beating for its negligent trainer and made a mental note to include that in the report he sent to Steven after this was over. Maybe Drillbur could be removed from the miner since the man obviously didn't give a damn about laws or his Pokemon's health.

Pyro slammed a Mega Punch into Drillbur's body, which struck the ground type in the gut with such force that it made an impact crater in the cave floor. That was the entire fight. Drillbur's small body went slack and it fell into unconsciousness.

The miner was stunned, but his face became enraged. "You cheated!"

"Did I?" Ash retorted. "How?"

"I don't know how, but you did!" The man shouted, shoving his jackhammer aside. "You're just a kid! You aren't allowed to be that strong!"

Ash stared at him steadily, unimpressed with his anger. "Even if I cheated somehow, you didn't say I couldn't when this started. The only thing we agreed on was that if one of us lost, we'd leave."

"I don't have to listen to you!" The miner snarled. "You're just a kid!"

"Yeah? How about the police?" Luna asked. She had her Pokedex in one hand and had the camera on to record the incident. "Even if you leave before they get here, I've got everything on camera. You're busted and you know it."

The miner's face turned red. "Give me that video."

Sobek got between them and the miner, baring his fangs in a savage snarl. Ash set a hand on the Krookodile's shoulder and gave the man a warning look. "I wouldn't aggravate him. If you attack us, he can retaliate in self-defense. Your choice."

The miner looked ready to explode, but he only made for his cart of tools and began to violently pile everything together. "Damn kids, getting in my way…"

Ash and the others backed off a bit to watch the man as he got his things together and left, cursing aggressively. He recalled his Drillbur and stared at the ball in disgust. To their surprise, he threw the ball at them and Silver barely caught it before it could hit him.

"I don't need something so useless. It can't even carry out my equipment the way it is now. Do whatever you want with it- I'll get a Pokemon that's better for excavating."

Ash didn't try to stop the man from leaving Drillbur with them. The man looked at his cart of equipment and snarled again, realizing that he couldn't carry it out on his own, and just grabbed his flashlight and took off.

Luna sighed in relief as she turned off the recording feature on her Pokedex camera. "Geez, that guy actually scared me for a bit there."

"Keep the video," Ash told her. "I'd like to send it to Steven and the police if we can. That guy doesn't need to have any Pokemon if he won't take care of them."

"What should we do with the Drillbur?" Silver asked, eyeing the pokeball.

"We'll turn it into the police," Ash said. "But let it out real quick so we can heal it and get it something to eat. Pyro, Sobek, keep an eye out in case that guy comes back."

The two reptiles nodded and did as he asked. Ash took his PokeNav out and took several photos of the man's equipment and the damage he'd done to the cave wall. He also had a small stash of fossils in a rucksack by the cart. Ash went through them, taking pictures as he went. Several Dome Fossils, a couple of Helix Fossils…not much else. None of them were in great condition because of the miner's terrible digging.

"We take the fossils to the police as evidence," Ash told the others. "That way he can't sneak back and try selling them."

Fortunately, all the fossils were small, so they were light even in bulk. Ash put them in his backpack and tossed the dirty rucksack away. He was about to stand up when a glint of light caught his eye. He peered closer and realized that a small, lavender-colored stone was hidden underneath the cart. Ash reached down and pull it out to examine it closer. The lavender color was pretty, but inside of it was an odd, double-helix shape that seemed to be silver-gray one half and a darker lavender the other.

Ash stood up and called Silver and Luna over. "Hey, come look at this."

Silver blinked at the small stone in his hand. "What is that? A Moon Stone?"

"I don't think so, they're a lot darker than this," Ash replied. "Plus they don't have this double-helix symbol in them. See?"

Luna leaned in to get a better look, but as she did, the stone attached to her earring suddenly flashed. She squeaked and recoiled in surprise as the stone in Ash's hand flashed in turn. Both stone began to glow faintly one after the other, as though they were reacting to each other.

Ash was more surprised by Luna's earring glowing than he was the stone in his hand. "What's that stone made of?"

"I don't know!" She carefully took the earring out and held it in her palm, moving it closer to the stone Ash had in his palm. As they got closer, they reacted more vibrantly, as though trying to sync up somehow. "Mom said she found this stone when she was a trainer, but she only thought it was pretty. Honestly, I thought the same, but…what's going on?"

Ash frowned at the two stones. "I think we need to get in touch with Steven and Lysandre."

* * *

When they finally exited Mt. Moon and reached Cerulean City, it was late into the night. Grateful that there was now a decent signal, Ash immediately sent the report he'd typed up for Steven and Lysandre on his PokeNav, as well as the photos he'd taken of the illegal mining site and the video Luna took. Thankfully, Steven had outlined what a report should consist of when he sent Ash the map and details of the survey job, so it hadn't been that difficult to write while they walked through the tunnels.

He'd also included at the end of the report a description of the stone they'd found in the mine and how Luna's earring had reacted to it. Ash figured that if anyone might know what was going on with that, it would be Steven and Lysandre- the latter of the two was a scientist, after all. Maybe he'd heard of this phenomenon and could explain it?

Ash sighed and stuffed the PokeNav into his pocket, then got up and left to find Luna and Silver, who were having a late dinner. He'd just wanted to get his stuff set up in the room they'd rented in the Pokemon Center before getting something to eat.

Most of his team had already eaten in the room and were now out cold. Espeon, Jasmine, and Arctus had claimed the foot of his bed, Pyro and Sobek were piled up on top of each other in the middle of the room, and Douse looked like he was about to fall asleep in the middle of a handstand against the wall. Rhydon was still in his Ultra Ball on the table next to Ash's bed and Spectre had, as usual, taken residence in his shadow.

Ash blinked as the little ghost popped out of the darkness and tapped him on the forehead. The boy smiled, took his cap off, and set it on the Duskull. "Better?"

Spectre made a hollow cackle, then floated up so he was on Ash's head and settled there, a ghostly sandwich between the boy and his hat. Ash only smirked in amusement and left like that to find his friends in the cafeteria. It was one in the morning, but he was hungry and he'd sleep better once he'd eaten.

He met up with Silver halfway- the other boy was picking up his Pokemon from Nurse Joy. They'd turned Drillbur in to her and explained what had happened, and Joy was more than happy to nurse the little ground type back to health. Ash called to the boy and stopped him, walking over to see how things had gone.

"How's everyone doing?"

Silver held up a pair of pokeballs, one in each hand. "Gawain and Golbat were just released from Joy's care. They're doing well- I'm told Drillbur is recovering as well."

"Nice catch back there, by the way," Ash complimented regarding Golbat. "Have you looked Golbat up on your Pokedex yet?"

"I'm about to," Silver said. "Let's go meet up with Luna first."

Said girl had saved them a table and looked like she was half-asleep as she slowly ate her dinner. Cinder was snoring in her lap, Mankey was eating like a pig, and Kakuna was as motionless as ever in Luna's open backpack beside her.

"Sup, guys," she mumbled out.

Silver smirked and took a seat across from her, with Ash sitting down next to Silver as the boy pulled his Pokedex out. "Now that we're all together again, let's find out just what I've gotten myself into."

He didn't let Golbat out- it was late, they were tired, and he was sure Golbat was probably still a bit out of it after the hectic day it'd had. Instead, Silver pulled up the profile his Pokedex had on record for his owned Pokemon and let the data play.

 _Golbat, the Bat Pokemon. It's fangs are hollow and fragile. They are designed to suck blood. They are greedy for food and often eat so much that it weighs them down and they become unable to fly. The male's fangs are bigger than the female's._

 _This Golbat is male and knows the moves: Leech Life, Bite, Wing Attack, Air Cutter, Swift, Acrobatics, Poison Fang, Confuse Ray, Supersonic, and Screech. Its ability is Inner Focus, which prevents opponents from making it flinch._

Ash whistled, tucking into a quick dinner he'd gotten from the cafeteria. "Not bad. There's a lot you can do with the move set he's got now."

"Yeah. He doesn't have as much power as Gawain does, but he's got a lot of hit-and-run moves that can weaken an opponent," Silver said thoughtfully. "I think I made a good call capturing him in the cave. If we can get some training in tomorrow, maybe we'll have a shot at challenging Cerulean Gym. What's the battle format there?"

"When I challenged them, it was two-on-two," Ash replied. "The Gym Leaders are all sisters, but I only fought one of them, so it's possible the others do things differently."

"I see…" Silver tapped his chin. "Luna, have any plans to take them on? Your team doesn't exactly have a type advantage against water Pokemon."

Luna sleepily waved him off. "I'll figure something out…maybe I'll go catch another Pokemon or something tomorrow…zzz…"

Ash cracked a smile. "Let me finish eating and we can all get to bed. You look ready to pass out."

"Gee, really?" She snarked humorously. He shook in head, still smiling. Even nearly asleep, her sarcasm was as good as ever. On top of his head, Spectre cackled hollowly with glee.

Ash took another bite of his dinner, but paused as his PokeNav vibrated. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the message he'd received. His eyes widened a bit.

It was from Steven and Lysandre.

 _Ash,_

 _Excellent work on the survey of Mt. Moon. While it was a bit more hectic than we'd initially hoped for your first job, we're quite satisfied with the work you did. You did was what required efficiently and safely. Well done. The report has already been filed to the League and they'll be on the lookout for the illegal miner you informed us of. You've easily met my expectations and for that, you've been officially accepted as a member of the League. Congratulations._

 _On another, more important note, the stones you mentioned at the end of your report have caught my and Lysandre's interest. If possible, we'd like to meet with you in the Cerulean City Pokemon Center tomorrow morning at Eleven O' clock. Don't give or show those stones to anyone. Keep them close and safe. If they are what we think they are, it's very important that we see them._

 _Reply to this message as soon as possible._

 _Regards,_

 _Steven_

Ash began typing back as soon as he read the whole message. He hadn't been expecting a personal visit from the two men, but that was fine with him as long as they got some answers.

* * *

 **A/N: I AM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT! God, it wasn't supposed to take this long for this update to come out, but geez. Here's what happened: I was planning on this arc taking a totally different path where they went to Rota and went through an alternative version of the Lucario movie events. But after several months of trying to plan it out and write it in different ways, I got fed up with it, scrapped the whole thing, and tried a different** **approach. This is a bit rougher than was initially intended, but I just want to get this chapter out there so I can get the ball rolling on this story once again. I'm so sorry you guys had to wait so long for this, but I'm back! Onto the review responses for chapter twenty!**

 **BUT ONE QUICK THING!**

 **I'm gonna leave this one up to my readers, so here's a question for the story: Would you like Silver to keep the Drillbur they got from the illegal miner in this chapter, or not and why? It's up to all of you! Now, onto the review responses!**

 **Sperance:** **...The Ash Daycare is open for business! Well, you really threw some curveballs in this chapter, that's for sure. I wasn't expecting Rhydon to come back so soon and Ash deciding to go after Sabrina before going for Koga again really threw me off. And the subversion of the traveling companions was nice. He got them, but I bet nobody saw this coming. On the other hand, I'm a bit uneasy about them. I know you can make it work, but I worry that, with two rookies tagging along with him, Ash's growth as a trainer may slow. Still, can't wait to see what you have in store for us!**

 **-Lol I guess you could call it that, but Silver and Luna will be able to hold their own soon, believe me! Rhydon's situation is one that I'm still developing, so who knows how that could turn out? As for Sabrina being targeted first, I think it makes sense. Sabrina is strong, but Koga ended up being the one to join the Elite Four. I feel like Koga is just underrated too much tbh. Ash's growth will be just fine, don't worry!**

 **WhosYuu: I'm so glad to see this story didn't get dropped. This is far and away my favorite story on and I can't get enough. Super stoked about Espeon by the way. Leafeon is my besteon but I was hoping you would consider a suggestion of Ash's team. Whimsicott is would be a fantastic add to Ash's team. I'm sure you already have 30 chapters from now planned out but I thought it couldn't hurt to mention. Whimsicott is such a fun pokémon to write and it's two types are types Ash doesn't have yet. Anyways keep doing what you do, love your story lots.**

 **-I'm not going to drop this story until it's good and finished! Honestly it was really close for me between Espeon and Leafeon, but I felt like Espeon suited Eevee's personality better. Still trying to decide on which grass type Ash should catch! I've got a load of chapters planned out, but things change a lot, so you never know who Ash might catch! Just because he's caught a Pokemon of one type doesn't mean he won't catch more, or catch a new type of Pokemon that's unexpected.**

 **fsizzel: you know, at some point you could have ash travel to mt silver because of a rumour about a powerful trainer living there, and that trainer is actually Traveler's version of Ash (but obviously under different name and with the same silent attitude as champion red) if anything thatll make a pretty nice filler :D**

 **-Oh god, I would love to do that! Have to get this Ash stronger though and then have a chat with Elf...who knows? I won't immediately shut down the possibility ;) But like I said, a lot's gotta happen before that gets the OK!**

 **TigerJacob: Oh god if the plot gets any thicker I will sink and never return! You gotta update this masterpiece. Your villians are actually good at being villians our heroes aren't 1 sided cardboard cutouts and the Pokemon oh the development! I'll admit binge reading this in a couple of days may not have been the best decision, but I just couldn't put it down your story and characters are wonderful and your world building is calculated. I can't wait to see what is in store for ash. I can't thank you enough for the read (goes without saying your faved and followed my friend)!**

 **-Oh dear, you better get something to get you back to the surface, because this plot is pretty thin compared to what I've got in store later! I'm not sure I'd call this a masterpiece- yet. I've done a lot of work on it, but jeez, I've got so much left to do that makes this all seem rather tame in my mind. In any case, please hold on tight, because things are gonna start getting wild again!**

 **That's all for now! As ever, please review and thanks for reading! Thank you again for your patience!**


	22. Foundation

_Chapter Twenty Two: Foundation_

The trio of young trainers were waiting by the entrance to the Pokemon Center for Steven and Lysandre to show up. Luna and Silver had been just as surprised as Ash when they heard that they'd be getting a personal visit, but they accepted it easily enough.

At eleven sharp, Steven and Lysandre walked into the Pokemon center, a flash of red trailing them as Steven recalled some Pokemon. They didn't look like they'd been flying, so Ash assumed that maybe they'd been teleported by a psychic type of some kind.

But it seemed today was going to be full of surprises, because right alongside the men was Professor Sycamore. The man smiled at Ash and Luna, dipping his head to them while his accomplices led the way.

Lysandre was businesslike just like the day before, but there was an eager gleam in his eyes this time. "Good morning. You did an excellent job on the survey. Steven was impressed."

"Thank you," Ash replied.

Steven looked at Ash seriously. "You've got the stones?"

He nodded, and the silver-haired man inclined his head. "Let's take this somewhere a bit quieter."

They ended up going to the room the three trainers had rented out the night before. Steven walked in and smiled a bit. "It's been a while since I stayed in one of these."

"Feeling nostalgic, are we?" Sycamore sounded amused by the silver-haired man.

Lysandre walked over to the desk in one corner of the room and tapped on it with his finger. "Let's see them."

Ash extracted the lavender stone they'd discovered at Mt. Moon and Luna removed her earring and set it down on the desk beside the first one. When the two men stared at her in surprise, she explained nervously. "My mom found this stone when she was a trainer in her younger years. I don't know where she got it, but I don't think she knew what it was, either. We just thought it was a pretty stone."

Sycamore held a hand up to his forehead. "I can't believe I didn't notice this back in Pallet Town. How embarrassing."

"Don't worry about it, neither Steven nor myself noticed in Pewter City, either," Lysandre waved his concerns away.

As they had the night before when they first came together, the two stones pulsed faintly, matching in time with their neighbor as though they were trying to sync up.

Lysandre's eyes practically glowed. "Steven…"

Steven took out the jeweled pin in his suit's breast pocket and held it close to the other two stones. Just like Luna's stone, his began to pulse and tried to sync up with the lavender stone. "There's no doubt. It's a Mega Stone."

"Mega Stone?" Ash echoed, recalling the conversation he'd had in Pallet Town with the Professors. "Wait, _this_ is one of the stones that lets a Pokemon Mega Evolve?"

"That's correct," Sycamore replied, carefully lifting the lavender stone to observe it more closely. "The stones that Luna and Steven possess are Key Stones- the stones that trainers hold to trigger Mega Evolution in their Pokemon. It's unfortunate that we don't know exactly where Luna's mother found her Key Stone, but the fact that this Mega Stone was found in Kanto is huge."

"Why's that?" Luna asked, taking her "earring" and fixing it back in her ear.

"Mega Stones and Key Stones have historically only been found in in Kalos and recently in Hoenn," Lysandre explained. "There's been absolutely no record of them being discovered in Kanto. A number of native Kanto species have the potential to Mega Evolve, but for some reason, the Mega Stones for them were never found in their home region. This…this changes everything."

Silver stared at the lavender jewel curiously. "So what kind of Pokemon does this Mega Stone react to?"

"I think I've seen this particular Mega Stone before, but just to be sure…" Steven pulled out a PokeNav that looked like it had been upgraded from Ash's version and tapped a few things. He had pulled up a screen holding a list of known Mega Stones and their appearances and after a few moments, nodded in certainty. "That's what I thought. It's an Aerodactylite. When held by an Aerodactyl, the trainer can use this and a Key Stone to trigger Mega Evolution."

"Aerodactyl?" Luna looked somewhat disappointed. "So we can't use it?"

"It's not like we can keep it, anyways," Ash replied, though not unkindly. "We found it in an illegal mine. If we just took it for ourselves, it'd be stealing. Speaking of which, I've also got all the fossils that guy was taking out of Mt. Moon. They're all small and kind of beat-up from him digging them out, but they're still good, I think."

He pulled the fossils out of his bag and offered them to Steven when the man nodded. "I'll have them delivered to the Pewter Gym for study and safekeeping. Well done. Unfortunately, it looks like all of these fossils are too damaged to be revived into Pokemon and we can't let you keep the Aerodactylite for legal reasons…"

"True as that may be, I won't let you walk away from this empty-handed," Lysandre told them. "This is a big discovery and you all did well. Give me some time to find an appropriate reward and I'll ensure your efforts weren't for nothing."

"Thank you."

"I think I'll head to Mt. Moon to investigate the site where it was found," Steven said.

"I shall accompany you," Lysandre agreed. He turned to the last scientist in the room. "Professor?"

"Ah, I'll catch up with you two shortly," Sycamore assured them and offered Lysandre the Aerodactylite. "I've got some prior business to take care of here in Cerulean, but it won't take long."

Lysandre grunted, carefully accepting the Mega Stone so he could place it in the briefcase he'd brought along. As soon as the stone was safely tucked away, the tall man faced Ash and his friends, smiling down at them. "We appreciate your role in this discovery. I'll be sure to send you three your rewards shortly."

Steven stood beside his colleague and nodded. "Ash, keep an eye on your PokeNav for League tasks from me, but don't let it take up too much of your time. I'll most likely only send you one every month or two unless something comes up. You're still in your first year of training- take your time, explore the world, and get stronger."

"Yes, sir," Ash replied.

The two men left then, taking the Aerodactylite with them. Ash kind of wished they'd been able to keep the Mega Stone, but it would just take up space without an Aerodactyl. Plus the only one with a Key Stone in their group at the moment was Luna. Ash wanted to get his own.

There was nothing they could do about it. They'd simply have to get Key Stones and Mega Stones that would work for them and their Pokemon.

Luna interrupted his train of thought. "Professor, what are you doing here in Cerulean? You said something about having prior business?"

"Ah, yes," Sycamore scratched the back of his head with one hand. "As it so happens, I was hoping the Cerulean Gym Leaders could help me with a Pokemon of mine. I've got a water type in my care that's been rather…difficult with new trainers lately. I thought it might be best to see how it responds to a more advanced trainer, so I've scheduled a meeting with them in an hour."

"We should go too!" Luna exclaimed. "I want to battle them! Maybe I couldn't beat Brock, but I might have a shot at these Gym Leaders!"

"Don't even think about it," Ash gave her a sideways look. "For one, we didn't get a lot of training done yesterday and two, I know they're out of your league right now. Cinder hasn't evolved yet and you've got a big type disadvantage. Take today to get some training in, maybe head north of the city and catch another Pokemon, then challenge them tomorrow. Same thing with Silver- you haven't even talked to Golbat yet."

Silver nodded. "That's true. Very well, I'll take your suggestion up. Will you be joining us?"

"No, I think I'll go train somewhere on my own," Ash said. He blinked at the surprised expressions on the faces of the other two kids. "What? I can't train with you guys every time or else I'll know all of your strategies and vice versa. If you need something or you're stuck, then yeah, come and get me, but I can't hold your hands all the time, you know?"

Luna puffed up her cheek in mild annoyance. "You don't have to hold anyone's hand, but that's still a good point. Alright! I'm gonna take my team up past the Nugget Bridge and find something to battle. Silver?"

"I'll be here for a bit," he answered. "Golbat probably isn't used to sunlight. I'll meet him here, then go train somewhere on my own."

Ash nodded in satisfaction. "Sounds like a plan."

Sycamore watched the three young trainers with a smile. They were going to grow rapidly if this kept up. "Then I'll be on my way. Take care, you three."

"Sure thing," Ash replied.

The Professor left then, so Ash, Luna, and Silver left their room to get started with their individual plans for the day. They stopped by the entrance to the Pokemon Center, where Luna released Cinder, Mankey, and Kakuna (the latter of which she held in her arms) and waved at the boys as she ran off. "Later guys! I've got stuff to do!"

Cinder and Mankey hurried after their energized trainer, leaving Ash and Silver staring after them with amused smirks on their faces.

Ash himself was about to get going when in through the door came Officer Jenny- one he was familiar with. This was the same officer who had given him Espeon back when she was an angry Eevee.

The woman saw him and blinked in surprise. "Well, well, it's the kid! Been a while since I saw you around here."

"Hey, Officer Jenny," he returned the greeting with a smile. "Been busy?"

"Thankfully not too much," she admitted. "Ever since Lance blew up that Rocket Base not far away from here the other month, crime's pretty much at a standstill. I think he scared the crap out of any troublemakers for the rest of their lives. Did me a favor, I've actually had time to invest in my personal life for once. But enough about me, how's the Eevee? Did you ever get it to work with you?"

Ash decided to answer her question by releasing Espeon from her Luxury Ball. The psychic type chittered softly upon seeing him and walked around his legs, rubbing her head up against him. He knelt down to pet her and looked up, outright grinning at the flabbergasted look on Jenny's face.

"Are you _sure_ that's the same Eevee?"

"It's definitely her," Ash replied, scratching Espeon under her chin. She cooed and leaned into his touch.

Jenny shook her head in amazement. "Holy crap kid, good job. I wondered for a while if it was impossible for her to get any better, but I'm glad I was wrong. She looks great."

"So am I," he said simply.

Nurse Joy came over then with a single pokeball in her hand. "Good day, Officer. You came to pick up the Drilbur I told you about?"

"Amongst other things," Jenny's eyes gleamed at the Nurse, leaving Ash and Silver to wonder if that was supposed to be an inside joke or something.

Joy looked a little miffed by Jenny's comment- wait, was she blushing?- but she only held the pokeball out to the Officer. "I trust you can find a suitable trainer for it. Drilbur is a little malnourished, but otherwise healthy."

"Well since you asked," Jenny glanced at Ash and Espeon innocently as she took the ball. "This guy's got a solid track record of rehabilitating Pokemon that I give to him, plus Professor Oak vouched for him. I think we can trust him with Drilbur if he's interested?"

Ash opened his mouth to respond, but he was beaten to the punch by Silver, who surprised everyone by exclaiming excitedly. "Actually, would it be possible for me to take Drilbur?"

Jenny looked at the red-headed boy curiously. "And you are…?"

"Silver, Officer," he replied formally. "I've researched ground types extensively and I'd really like the opportunity to train Drilbur."

"Well…"

Ash was surprised by the other boy's unexpected enthusiasm and chose to back him up. "It's okay, Officer. He's actually traveling with me at the moment, so I'll be able to look after Drilbur even if I'm not its trainer."

Jenny thought about it for a solid three seconds. Since Ash was going to be around and keep an eye on Drilbur, she saw no harm in it going to another trainer. "Alright. I'll let you take it. Make sure it gets proper care, okay?"

"Drilbur is still underweight, so just make sure it eats well for now," Joy instructed him. "No training for one week and no battles for two."

"Yes, ma'am!" Silver promised, trying not to take the pokeball from Jenny too quickly.

Jenny's eyes turned back to Joy now and she grinned slyly. "Well, that gives me about an hour to do whatever I want."

Joy was _definitely_ blushing now. "Whatever it is, I've got work to do!"

The Officer looked around innocently. "I don't see anyone. Center looks pretty quiet right now. Besides, isn't it your lunch time? C'mon, let's get something to eat!"

She threw an arm over the Nurse's shoulder and started leading her away towards the cafeteria, despite Joy's feeble protests. Ash and Silver could only stare after the pair of women with bewildered looks on their faces. Both were quite sure they'd never seen another person turn that shade of red before.

Neither of them knew it, but Espeon was outright _smirking_ after Jenny and Joy.

"Ooookay," Ash finally said. "That was…different."

"Very different," Silver agreed.

Ash gave the other boy a curious glance. "So why were you so excited about Drilbur? No offense, I just didn't think you were the type to get so…pumped up like that."

Silver looked a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, it's just…my father is a ground type master, you know? I've grown up around them and I know all of the species inside and out. But father doesn't have a Pokemon from the Drilbur line. I want to see if I can train Drilbur well enough to beat him. It's not like I want to be an exclusive single-type trainer, but it's still a goal of mine to beat father at the thing he's best at."

"I get it," Ash replied, nodding. Or at least, he thought he got it. It wasn't as though he was trying to outdo his mother, but he was trying to outdo all the other trainers in the world, so maybe it was like that? He shook his head. No need to overthink that. "Right, well I'm going to go train to the south of Cerulean, I think. Good luck with Golbat and Drilbur."

"Thanks. Good luck training."

* * *

Luna held Kakuna in her arms as she jogged down the Nugget Bridge with Cinder and Mankey trailing beside her. It was a bright, sunny day- perfect for exercise, training, and battling.

"Now, where do we start…" She wondered aloud. Luna glanced around once she was on the other side of the bridge and locked onto a small forest to her left; just the kind of place one would expect to find wild Pokemon. "There!"

She jogged over to the small forest with a grin on her face. "Let's find something to battle, guys!"

Cinder yowled, thrashing his tail. He was definitely nearing evolution if the pent-up aggression building inside of him was any indication. Luna was sure that with a few good battles and some tough training, he'd reach that peak by the end of the day.

"Cinder, let's try out Flamethrower today!" Luna decided. "We've seen Pyro do it so much that it should be easy! Mankey, we're gonna learn how to use Cross Chop!"

Mankey howled in excitement. Luna's eagerness was infectious to the already hyperactive monkey, pumping up his adrenaline and desire to move even further than normal.

"Kakuna," Luna added, making sure that she didn't leave any member of her team out. "Let's keep an eye out for strong opponents together, okay? Let me know if you see anything!"

Kakuna could only chirp in response. Her cocooned form was useless for movement and normally she'd be hanging from a tree branch by a silken thread, hidden amongst the foliage, but she was satisfied with her place in Luna's arms. Kakuna's hive mind told her that Luna was in charge; she was the Queen of this hive. She would follow her Queen's orders and watch out for enemies that the soldiers of the hive (Cinder and Mankey) could battle. The hive needed to grow strong for it to flourish.

So she would do her duty and seek out strong opponents from the safety of her Queen's embrace.

Not a minute into their exploration of the small forest, Cinder yowled and hissed at something hanging from a nearby tree. Luna followed his gaze and her eyes widened in surprise. It was a wild Weepinbell.

"Nice eye, Cinder!" She exclaimed. "You spotted it, so you get the fight! Ember!"

The Weepinbell was so unprepared for Cinder's sudden attack that it took the blow head-on, dropping from the tree with a squeal of surprise. As soon as it hit the ground, it whirled around and glared at the cat, who hissed and stalked around it in a semi-circle.

Weepinbell made a squelching noise and spat a glob of sizzling purple liquid from its mouth, which Cinder dodged easily. Luna saw the liquid eat away at the grass that it touched and realized that it was Acid. "Cinder, close in and dodged those attacks!"

Cinder rushed the Weepinbell, doing as his trainer said and leaping to avoid the shots of Acid that came at him. He moved in a blur of speed, once again catching the unfortunate grass type off-guard. "Fire Fang!"

Cinder's sharp teeth bit into Weepinbell and ignited, burning the grass type's soft body. Weepinbell squealed, but it extended the vine atop its head and used it to slap Cinder away. Cinder yelped from the stinging sensation, but the attack was ineffective otherwise, angering the cat.

Luna grinned widely. "Keep it up! Circle it and use Ember!"

* * *

Silver and Gawain looked at the two pokeballs on the floor in front of them. They were back in their room at the Pokemon Center, with the window blinds down and the lights off so that neither of their new companions would be frightened. Golbat and Drilbur were both species that were sensitive to light. They could be trained to get used to it, but for now they were probably too nervous to be exposed to the light.

He exchanged a smile with his first partner. "Well, ready to meet our new team mates?"

Gawain chirped, tilting his head sharply.

"Drilbur first," Silver decided, taking the ball which contained the ground type and tapped the button on the front. Drilbur was set loose in a quick burst of light and materialized on the floor in front of them.

Now that Silver got a good look at it, he could tell that Drilbur was about average size for its species, albeit underweight. It didn't have quite as much of a curve to its belly like healthy Drilbur, but otherwise it looked good. Its claws were sharp, eyes alert, and its nose was already snuffling a mile a minute.

"Easy, there," Silver murmured quietly. Drilbur stiffened and he gave it a moment to catch his scent. He'd read about this species before even if he'd never actually seen one in person until now. They were usually timid and didn't take well to being surprised. Silver would take this slow and steady to keep the mole in a comfortable frame of mind. "Are you hungry?"

Drilbur nodded slowly, its long nose dipping down and then back up. Silver calmly took one of the bowls of Pokemon food he'd prepared beforehand and set it down in front of the little ground type. Drilbur's nose twitched towards the food and sniffed it curiously, then it approached and began to eat, scooping bits of food into its mouth with its shovel-like claws.

Silver lifted his Pokedex quietly and let it scan Drilbur. He'd turned the sound off to avoid startling his new Pokemon, so he read the information it provided him with silently.

 _Drilbur, the Mole Pokemon. By spinning its body, it can dig straight through the ground at speeds of up to thirty miles per hour. Its eyesight is poor, so it relies on its sense of smell and touch. The whiskers on its snout are highly sensitive to vibrations._

 _This Drilbur is male and knows the moves: Metal Claw, Dig, Fury Swipes, Rapid Spin, Mud Slap, Slash, and Hone Claws. Its ability is Sand Rush, which doubles its speed in a sandstorm._

Silver nodded to himself. There was a lot of potential here for a talented fighter once Drilbur was trained. He knew from all the research he'd done that Drilbur and its evolved form, Excadrill, were incredibly fast for ground types. Sand Rush would only augment that if he could teach a member of his team how to use Sandstorm- that wouldn't be hard. Gawain would learn the technique easily and Drilbur could learn it from him.

In his mind, he knew that speed would be the key to defeating other ground types who were stronger physically. His father's Rhyperior and Ash's Krookodile, for starters.

But that could wait. Silver waited until Drilbur had finished eating before he held his hand out, offering it for Drilbur to inspect. The little ground type sniffed him more closely this time, apparently deeming him unthreatening since Silver had given Drilbur food.

Silver gradually shifted his hand so that he could touch the claws gently. Drilbur wouldn't appreciate touches on his small head, sensitive snout, or vulnerable underbelly. They were timid and cautious by nature. Silver would have to go down the safe road with this one.

"I'm going to be your trainer from now on," he told Drilbur. The mole's nose twitched again and observed the fingers lightly touching its claws. "I'll take care of you and teach you how to battle if you want. I'll make you strong."

Drilbur wasn't sure if he was keen on the battling part at the moment, but it would be nice if he had a trainer that would actually take care of him. The mole nodded slightly. Yes, it would give this boy a chance.

Silver turned his head to look at his patient partner beside him. "This is Gawain. He's my partner and he'll be training with you wherever we go. I think you'll get along with each other well enough."

Gawain chirped and shuffled his wings, assuming a non-aggressive stance. Drilbur sniffed in his direction and squeaked back in apparent acceptance.

Now he reached for the second pokeball and held it up to the two Pokemon before him. "Okay, this one is our other partner. Let's make a good impression on him, okay?"

Silver tapped the release.

And all hell broke loose.

* * *

Ash made his way down the road east of Cerulean City. He'd never been this way- the first time he'd come through here, he'd gone south through Saffron and on to Vermillion City. He'd completely skipped this route and the Rock Tunnel. This time, they were going to take this path so they could investigate the rumors Jessie and James had told him about.

Espeon chittered beside him to get his attention and Ash smiled down at her. "It's nothing girl. Just figuring out our travel plans."

She nodded, tail swishing behind her. Ash glanced around to check out their surroundings. This route was a lot more sparse than others he'd been on. There wasn't much vegetation save shrubs and the only cover was a number of boulders randomly dotted around.

It didn't look that special, but he thought it was a great place to train. At least here he didn't have to worry about Pyro setting a forest on fire.

He stopped in his tracks at the sound of a roar and an explosion soon after. A battle?

Ash hurried around one of the larger boulders and spotted the fighters he'd heard- a Nidoking and a small fire type that he couldn't identify immediately.

"Can I help you?"

He jumped and glanced down, spotting the trainer of the two fighting Pokemon sitting on the ground against the boulder. The other boy's eyes widened as Ash's did when the pair recognized one another.

"Paul?" Ash asked more out of surprise than anything.

"Finally, someone worth my time," Paul replied, though he remained sitting. "It's been weakling after weakling all day."

"Sorry if I disturbed you," Ash said, glancing back to the two fighting Pokemon. The fire type had just gotten smacked by Nidoking and hit the ground, but quickly got back on its feet. Ash recognized it now as a Chimchar- a fire type from Sinnoh. "Training a new member of the team?"

"You could say that," Paul muttered, frowning.

"Trouble?"

"No…not the conventional trouble, anyways," the boy shook his head. "Forget it for a moment. How's your training going? I haven't gotten to see your team in action since Celadon."

Ash pushed the memories of that particular event to the back of his head. "It's going well. I've got a couple of new Pokemon I'm working with. Charizard, Krookodile, Espeon, and Poliwrath have all evolved."

"I can see that," Paul replied, taking a moment to observe Espeon, who sat regally beside Ash and only watched the fighting Pokemon. "It's been the same for me. Captured a few new Pokemon, my brother gave me one that he'd bred not long ago, and some of my team has evolved. Nidoking obviously, but also Torterra and Marowak. I can't afford the items I need to evolve Porygon or Electabuzz yet."

"You could always go find a thunderstorm for Electabuzz, couldn't you?" Ash half-joked. Electabuzz evolved naturally in the wild by going into thunderstorms and absorbing a whole bolt of lightning into their bodies. It was generally ill-advised for people to get that close, but it was an option, nonetheless.

"Tempting as that is, I haven't seen a storm like that in months," Paul replied. "I'll probably take that opportunity if it comes my way. Porygon's Upgrade is going to cost me a fortune."

"How much?"

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

"One hundred and fifty grand."

Both of Ash's eyebrows rose high. "Are you serious?"

"I can't afford a joke that expensive," Paul grumbled. "It's an artificial evolutionary tool created for an artificial Pokemon. Limited edition and all that, you know? Porygon isn't usually used for battles, but I'm finding that it's rather useful in the right setting. I'd like to get the Upgrade so I can evolve it into Porygon2, but…it's gonna take a while to save up that much cash."

"Good luck with that," Ash said honestly. Paul only grunted in response and the two boys paused in their conversation as Nidoking smashed Chimchar away with his tail. The impact made Ash wince and he was sure that was going to be the end of the mismatched battle.

He was in for a surprise. Chimchar got back up and went right back on the offensive.

"Isn't this kind of…much?" Ash said. "Chimchar's getting crushed out there."

"I know, but it's…different," Paul admitted with a frown. "I just got Chimchar. Actually, Cynthia gave him to me. Said something about Chimchar suiting me somehow. This is our first training session, but he's not behaving at all like I'd expected."

"Disobedience?"

"Not even a little, he's listened to every order I gave him. No, it's just…that."

He nodded as Chimchar got slammed once more. The impact should have knocked it out, but Chimchar surprised Ash again by getting up without missing a beat and blasted Nidoking with a Flamethrower, then darted around the poison type and leapt up to strike it in the back of the head with Flame Wheel. Nidoking roared in fury, spinning to strike Chimchar with a Horn Attack, but the little monkey caught his opponent by the horn and used it to fling himself out of Nidoking's reach.

Ash whistled. "Not bad. He's got good reflexes."

"He's been at this for an hour."

"An _hour?"_

"I've pit him against Electabuzz, Torterra, and now Nidoking. I thought they would knock him out in the first ten minutes, honestly," Paul said. "Chimchar's power isn't that high right now, even with Blaze active. The first time he got slammed like that, I thought it was over. But he got right back up and started fighting again."

"What, is he just fighting to exhaustion?"

"Watch for a minute."

Curious by Paul's own apparent amazement, Ash watched the fight for a few minutes, trying to figure out what was so out of the ordinary. It looked like Chimchar was getting beaten badly; bruises and cuts marred his body, yet the little monkey's eyes practically glowed with _life_ , a desire to fight, and an unshakeable will to win. And despite the huge disadvantage, each time he went on the attack, he left Nidoking with more burns on his hide.

Ash could see that Nidoking was actually quite tired. It wasn't going to go down anytime soon from damage, but Chimchar's attacks seemed to be having an effect. The more he studied the enormous poison type, the more he realized that most of the damage was…concentrated in certain areas. The head, neck, and throat especially, but also the knees, ankles, and hips. In fact, there was no sign that Chimchar had attacked any other place on the poison type. Chimchar was only targeting vital points or weak spots on the behemoth.

"Do you see it?" Paul asked. When Ash nodded, he went on. "I didn't tell him to target those areas. I just told him to spar with my other Pokemon so I could get a grasp of Chimchar's level. His resilience is impressive, but more than that, he seems to target the vital points without me saying anything. I haven't told him those are the weak points. Most young Pokemon like him would just be flailing their power around and hitting whatever they could."

"But Chimchar's different. At first, I wondered if it was just a fluke, so I swapped out Electabuzz and let him battle against Torterra and Nidoking, but he did the same thing. I don't think he even realizes that he's going for the vital spots. That's not something that stems from regular instincts."

Ash let that click into place as he realized what was going on. "It's talent. You think he's a battle prodigy?"

"It's just the first day, so it's only a hypothesis," Paul replied. "But if he keeps this up, I'm going to have trouble being patient and waiting for him to get stronger. Can you imagine the damage he would do with that kind of combat talent once he's fully evolved?"

Ash studied the attacks for another minute. "If you can get him to sharpen those blows, make them pinpoint and concentrate the power, that's…scary to think about."

"He's got the foundation of a seriously powerful battler. There's an old saying that humans aren't created equal. I know that applies to Pokemon too, of course, but this is the first time I've ever seen a Pokemon with that kind of inborn talent. You can train almost any Pokemon to become an incredibly powerful fighter. I know that firsthand. But just like some people are born able to do things that others can't do as well, I think Chimchar was born to fight at a level above the ordinary."

Ash smirked, but then winced as Chimchar got slammed again. Even with his eyes as alive as ever, his body was starting to look a bit too worn down for Ash's liking. "You might stop that before he actually gets really hurt. Being a battle prodigy won't help if he tears a muscle badly or something."

"Point," Paul admitted, standing up then. "Enough!"

Chimchar stopped in his tracks and immediately turned to his trainer. Nidoking just looked relieved that the fighting was over- this fight wasn't intense, but it was long and his fire type sparring partner did a surprising amount of damage after a while.

Paul nodded shortly. "Good work, both of you. Take a break."

Nidoking grunted and sat down. Chimchar grinned widely for a second, but then his eyes rolled and he slumped over, exhausted.

Ash stared at the little fire type. "Was it really just his will to keep fighting keeping him up?"

"Probably. His drive is more intense than any other Pokemon on my team," Paul said, walking over to the unconscious Pokemon with his bag. He extracted a potion and set about fixing the cuts and bruises as best he could, though Nurse Joy would have to take a look to fix the rest of the damage.

He glanced at Ash after a moment. "I'll probably be here for a while. Are you going to be participating in the tournament tomorrow?"

"Tournament?"

"Cerulean Gym is hosting a water Pokemon catching contest," Paul told him as he sprayed the potion onto Chimchar's left arm. "I don't recall the prizes being that special, but they're bringing in a number of exotic species for trainers to catch. I'll be going to see if I can find a water type for my team."

"Don't you have Tentacruel?"

"Of course, but no Pokemon is omnipotent. Tentacruel can't cover all the bases in a Pokemon battle. Her offense on land is pretty limited and she's not that fast. I'd like to capture a faster water type that's more efficient at combat both in water and on land. You should think about doing the same; Poliwrath is a powerful close-range fighter with some pretty strong defenses, but it's long range isn't as great and it isn't that fast."

He kind of wanted to mention that he had Gyarados, but Professor Oak had said that Gyarados wouldn't be able to train for several months at least. There was no telling if she'd even be ready to battle by the time the Indigo League came around. Paul made a valid point and he wouldn't refute that fact.

"It sounds interesting," Ash admitted. "I'll talk to my traveling companions about it tonight and see what they think."

"Traveling companions?" Paul scoffed. "You've got a little gang or something now?"

"Nah, it's just my cousin and a friend of mine," he shrugged. "They're new trainers and I'm kind of…not okay with them going around on their own with Team Rocket on the loose."

"I guess I understand that. Well, just make them into decent competition for me. I've fought more weaklings in this last month than I can handle. There aren't enough powerful trainers out there for me to improve against."

"Have you gone after Sabrina or Koga yet?"

"Sabrina's my next target," Paul said. "I'm ready to take her on."

"Me too, I think. I'm going the long way around this time so I can check out the Rock Tunnel, but I'll go after Sabrina and then Koga after her."

Paul nodded. "It's a good plan. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Ash turned and began to leave with Espeon, but stopped when Paul called to him again. "Let's battle again after the tournament tomorrow. I've been itching for a good fight and I don't want to wait until Sabrina for it."

He grinned dangerously at his rival. "You're on."

Ash left then, fired up, but thinking hard at the same time.

* * *

Luna flopped onto her back with a wide grin on her face. She was sweaty and hot and tired, but she felt great and there was a nice breeze blowing through the small forest they'd been training in.

"Whew, good job, guys!" She cheered, still holding Kakuna carefully.

Cinder growled beside her, his tail flicking after wiping out nearly a dozen opponents, both wild and some belonging to trainers. He was on the cusp of evolution- he was more agitated than before and his fur was bristling constantly. Embers occasionally flickered out of his mouth as the energy built up inside of him attempted to bubble forth and trigger the rapid metamorphosis that would bring him to the next stage of his growth.

On Luna's other side, Mankey was still riled up with energy. He'd fought as many wild Pokemon and trainers as Cinder and he seemed to be just as tireless. And yet when the fighting type looked across his trainer at Cinder, he found himself somewhat perplexed. Cinder was visibly getting stronger, so why wasn't he?

Cinder had defeated Mankey when him and Luna had first encountered the fighting type near Viridian City- it had been a pretty close fight, but Cinder had won out. Mankey had come to recognize that Cinder was just a tad bit stronger than he was. So why then, was Cinder growing so much faster than he? Mankey certainly wasn't about to evolve.

It was frustrating and he was already riled up and thinking about it too much was starting to make his head hurt a bit. Mankey bounced up and down, swinging his arms a bit to display his strength at Cinder.

The fiery feline turned his head slightly to regard his fighting type companion and growled again. He was all for a fight, but Mankey was a member of their clan. He wasn't someone to attack and pummel into submission. Cinder lay his head back down on the ground to rest again, dismissing the monkey's agitation.

It only served to get Mankey into a truly angry mood. Was…was Cinder _ignoring_ him? Completely disregarding his strength?

Nope. Absolutely not.

Luna yelped as Mankey leapt over her and tackled Cinder, grabbing the cat and rolling with him for several feet. Cinder screeched at the surprise attack, but it quickly became a snarl as he retaliated. Mankey was a member of their clan, but Cinder's patience had its limits and he was in a fighting mood, dammit.

Cinder bit down onto Mankey's arm and threw the monkey away from him, regaining his footing and letting the fur on his spine bristle up with a flare of heat. Mankey scrambled back to his feet and pounded his arms on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum.

"What are you two doing?!" Luna gasped, standing up with Kakuna. "Stop fighting right now!"

Cinder wanted to listen, but Mankey was challenging the hierarchy here and he didn't like it one bit, especially with his hormones already spiking from the evolutionary energy surging just beneath his skin. With a yowl, he lunged at the fighting type and spat a gout of flame.

Mankey easily dodged it and swiped at Cinder with a Karate Chop, but Cinder intercepted with Fire Fang, clamping down tightly on Mankey's arm. Mankey howled and tried to beat at Cinder with his other hand, but the cat leapt up and threw him again. Cinder came down with his claws unsheathed and began to slash at Mankey furiously.

Luna watched the fight with disbelief in her eyes. She'd thought for sure that Cinder and Mankey had been getting along, so what was this about?

She realized for a moment that she was helpless. Kakuna couldn't fight and she couldn't stop them herself. Well, she could recall them, of course, but somehow she doubted that would actually help them settle down. Luna bit her lip and watched as Mankey delivered a kick to Cinder's flank only for the cat to spin towards his foe and bite him again.

Whatever was going on with them had become a problem which needed to be solved. Luna slowly sat back down, placed Kakuna in her backpack where she could watch the events unfold, and took out Cinder and Mankey's pokeballs. She'd let them try and get whatever this was out of their system through a battle, but if it escalated too much, she was going to recall them both and give them a real lecture for it later.

Both Pokemon were already somewhat worn out from all the exercise they'd had throughout the day, so they started to tire before too long. Mankey had burns, bites, and scratches covering his body and Cinder looked like he was going to be bruised for a while after all the hard hits the fighting type had landed.

Mankey lunged at Cinder again, trying to use Cross Chop this time. They'd had a few goes at it today, but it was going to take a long time to master. Right now, all Mankey could to was the motion for it- bringing his arms up in an X-shape and slashing at a target with it.

Cinder was unfazed by the attempt and waited until Mankey was close, then deftly jumped over the monkey. Mankey scrambled to come to a stop, but by the time he did, Cinder had landed, spun around, and lunged at the fighting type.

Cinder slammed into Mankey from behind, knocking him off his feet and planting him face-first into the ground. The cat kept him down with strong paws and snarled close to Mankey's ear, demanding submission. Mankey refused, beating against the ground in an effort to get free.

Furious with what Cinder believed to be a blatant challenge to his authority as Luna's second in-command, he yowled in rage at Mankey and the energy beneath his belt bubbled to the surface with a surge of light. The fighting and adrenaline coursing through him had finally brought to the Litten evolution.

Cinder's whole body grew larger and stockier, easily tripling his previous size for sheer mass and muscle gain. His paws, once small, nimble things, spread out and became huge weapons for pinning and beating opponents into submission. His whiskers extended and bristled, as did his tail. His claws lengthened and his fangs extended so that the tips were visible just past his lips.

The light exploded away from Cinder, revealing a Torracat that kept Mankey pinned below him with just one large paw. At his throat, a sphere of flame similar to the bell on a collar formed; a flame sac that flared up as Cinder summoned his fire.

Cinder growled again, but it was deeper and raised the hairs on the back of Luna's neck as she heard it. Cinder was no longer a house kitty; he looked and sounded like a wildcat. Mankey froze beneath the fire type's new, huge paws and the threatening growl that demanded submission. He couldn't hope to beat Cinder now and he knew it. The monkey went slack and Cinder huffed, satisfied, before he let the fighting type up.

Luna finally approached the pair and was torn between feeling joy for Cinder's evolution and concern for what had just gone down. "Are we done fighting?"

Mankey pushed himself up and nodded, looking put-out by the experience. He'd started the fight so that Cinder would acknowledge him, but it only served to widen the gap between them. The Torracat was currently taking a moment to observe his new body, though his attention kept darting from himself, to Luna, and back to Mankey.

She set her hands on her hips and looked from one Pokemon to another. "Mankey, what happened?"

Mankey looked at Cinder and Luna could see his fists clench for a few moments, like he wanted to fight again, but then they slackened and she blinked as the fighting type's head turned down. He looked like he was giving up.

She thought that she had an idea as to what was going on and knelt down. "You wanted to see if you were stronger than Cinder?"

That wasn't exactly it, but Mankey nodded anyways. Luna lifted one of her hands and ruffled the fur atop his head, smiling a little. "You know that Cinder is a different kind of Pokemon, right? He's going to grow a bit faster than you for a little while. That's just how his body works, okay? Don't worry, you'll catch up in no time. It's going to take a little more time, is all."

Mankey didn't seem so sure. Luna needed to approach this differently and came up with an idea. "I'll tell you what, how about when we get back, we ask Ash how he made Douse so strong? Douse is a fighting type like you are, you know? He probably grew at a similar rate to you. If we ask, I'm sure he'll help us come up with a training regime so that you can catch up with Cinder."

The fighting type thought about that for a few moments. Ash's Poliwrath was an absolute beast from the few times he'd seen him; strong, confident, and undoubtedly a fighter who had seen combat many times. There weren't any other fighting types he could turn to, so maybe Luna was onto something. He nodded, feeling the usual eagerness coming back to him.

"How about you try out one of Douse's workouts?" She suggested, recalling what Ash had the stocky water type do when he was warming up for training. "It's five hundred push-ups, five hundred crunches, and five hundred squats! You can do it!"

Mankey jumped excitedly and immediately began to perform the exercise his trainer had given him in rapid fire mode. Being a fighting type, he was always pumped for harsh training. This suited him just fine.

Luna laughed, entertained by the fighting type's eagerness to continue working hard and relieved that he seemed to be happier now. She retrieved Kakuna from her bag and turned her head to look up towards the sky, silent for a long while before she started talking again.

"We've gotta get a lot stronger to catch up with Ash. He's really strong, but we've got lots of time before the Indigo League. If we train hard and find some more great members for our team, we'll be able to beat him by the time the tournament comes along. Don't you think so, Kakuna?"

Kakuna only chirped. She couldn't actually move, so that was the only answer she could actually provide Luna with. The girl didn't mind and continued to chatter. "Sorry, it's probably going to be tough for us to communicate until you evolve. Wait, I know! Kakuna, how about when you evolve, we think up a name for you? Cinder's got one and Mankey didn't want one, but I'm sure we can come up with a name that suits you. I think it'll help you feel more at home with the team. I want everyone to be happy and at ease, you know?"

Kakuna chirped again. Luna smiled, then sat up slowly. "Alright, I'm getting kind of hungry now! How about we head back to Cerulean and get something to eat, then we'll catch up with Ash and Silver?"

Cinder let out a soft growl and stood up, ready to go at the prospect of food. Luna stood up with him and turned towards Mankey, but stopped in her tracks.

Mankey was lying face-down on the ground, breathing heavily and seemingly exhausted. Luna rushed over and knelt beside the fighting type. "Mankey, are you okay?"

Mankey weakly gave her a thumbs-up, muscles drained after completing Douse's warm-up regime as fast as he could physically manage. Douse did _this_ on a daily basis? For a warm-up?

Luna stared at Mankey with concern and disbelief in her eyes. She exchanged a glance with an equally amazed Cinder. "I think Douse is some kind of monster."

Cinder meowed to agree with her.

* * *

Espeon silently trailed beside her trainer as they walked through the streets of Cerulean City. Speaking with Paul had put Ash out of the mood to train for some reason and all he really wanted to do right now was think.

This whole morning had been information overload for him. They'd found a Mega Stone at Mt. Moon and there was the possibility now that there were other Mega Stones out there in Kanto. Ash didn't think he'd stopped thinking about he possibility of one of his Pokemon being capable of Mega Evolution since the concept had been explained to him.

The only Pokemon he had right now (that he was aware of, at least) with the potential to Mega Evolve were Pyro and Gyarados, and the latter was completely out of the question considering that she was still recovering from premature evolution. But Pyro could Mega Evolve. Ash wondered if it was possible for him to find a Key Stone and a Charizardite in Kanto. He kind of doubted it; after all, Mega Stones in Kanto were completely unheard of according to Lysandre and Steven.

Pyro was still growing and he had a long way to go before his strength would cap out, so of course there was no rush to seek out a Mega Stone for him, but still…Ash really, really wanted to see what his starter would be capable of if he reached that highest stage.

That brought one of Paul's suggestions to the forefront of his mind- catching more than one Pokemon of a single type. Of course, he'd known for a while that it would be alright- advisable, even- for him to do that. No one Pokemon was perfect. A species specifically evolved for swimming might be totally useless on land, like Seaking. Heck, even Pyro had his strengths and weaknesses- he was a great flier and aerial combatant, but he was a bit slower and less graceful on the ground. If Ash were to catch another fire type like Rapidash or Arcanine, they would make up for that weakness.

Yet at the same time, he didn't want to expand his team too quickly. His team was great and he knew they were all comfortable with each other with the exception of Rhydon. Ash was kind of reluctant to bring in another teammate when he was still hashing things out with the volatile rock type, but he wouldn't outright refuse the possibility of catching more Pokemon. A part of him would always seek to catch Pokemon that he wanted to work with, no matter what species they were.

Rhydon was another problem he was struggling to figure out. The rock type's fighting style clashed completely with Ash's preferred strategies in the worst ways possible. Rhydon had almost no desire to work with Ash and he could tell that its opinion of him and his team was rather low.

Ash wanted to make things work with Rhydon. He really did. Even if the rock type's personality was challenging, he was also powerful and Ash could see that Rhydon had a lot of potential to become a mighty warrior. He would do his best to try and find a way for them to work together, but Ash also didn't want to force anything. If Rhydon really didn't want anything to do with the team and found that Ash's style and his own just didn't work together, Ash knew he would have to let it go. Keeping Rhydon around if that was made obvious would be more like keeping him prisoner.

So he would try his best and hope that Rhydon would do the same. And whether things worked out or not, Ash would do what was best for them.

He let out a low groan and rubbed his forehead. Geez, everything just seemed to get more and more complicated every time he turned around.

 _You're thinking too much,_ said a soft, feminine voice.

"How would you know?" Ash grumbled to whoever it was that said that. He looked up, feeling slightly irritated, but blinked when he didn't see anyone. The boy turned around, but again, saw no one. He was the only person anywhere near this part of the sidewalk.

He frowned and shook his head again. Now he was imagining things. Great.

Espeon's tail twitched slightly in amusement. She'd let him figure it out on his own.

Only now did Ash realize where he was- standing in front of the Cerulean City Gym.

He hadn't actually planned on coming here. Ash didn't really feel like training at the moment, but he felt like a battle might clear his head a bit. Maybe it was a bit underhanded since Luna and Silver had planned on challenging the gym as soon as possible, but…

Ash walked into the gym. He'd get a fight out of Misty or her sisters and then rejoin his traveling companions.

There was no one by the front desk and he could hear some noise coming from the back, so he assumed that somebody was having a battle. Ash led Espeon to the entrance to the battlefield itself and opened the door.

"No, wait! Close it!"

Ash froze in surprise as a small, blue object came flying at his head. Fortunately, Espeon immediately reacted by using Psychic and stopping whatever it was dead in its tracks.

His attacker was a small, blue Pokemon that looked like a frog, but it had a mane of white bubbles frothing around its neck as it squirmed against Espeon's Psychic. It seemed to be quite mad, squeaking and croaking as it flailed helplessly in midair.

Ash was still so surprised that he just blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"What are these angry bubbles?"

A chuckle jerked him out of his brief surprise and brought to Ash's attention that the one laughing was Professor Sycamore. He hadn't been aware that the man was still here; he'd assumed that whatever business he'd come to take care of would be finished a long time ago.

"Sorry, Ash, it seems we got the jump on you," Sycamore managed to suppress his laughter. "But thank you for stopping Froakie from getting out."

"Froakie" didn't seem very pleased with Sycamore's gratefulness for its retrieval and only squeaked again in anger. Ash was closest to the suspended frog and only sighed, reaching out and tucking it to his chest carefully so he could rub the top of its small head. "Settle down there…"

The frog glared up at him for a moment, then looked away and closed its eyes. It seemed frustrated, but didn't try to attack him again. Ash figured it was stressed. He nodded to Espeon, who released Froakie from its Psychic prison.

"Wow, fancy seeing you here!" That was Misty, approaching from behind Sycamore with her three sisters in tow. The red-head nodded at Ash as he calmed the angry water type down. "Good job, by the way. Maybe you've gotten a bit better."

The corner of his lips twitched up in a challenging smirk. "Wanna find out?"

"I would, but we've got to figure out how to handle Froakie first," Misty sighed.

Professor Sycamore gestured to the little frog in Ash's arms. "This is Froakie. He's been having some problems with new trainers who choose him when they start out on their journeys. His species is one of the three kinds of Pokemon I give out to starting trainers in Kalos, but most Froakie are calm and docile. This one is the complete opposite. He's run away from so many new trainers that I thought it might be better to give him to someone with more experience."

"Only problem is he isn't interested in socializing with like, anyone at all!" Daisy groaned, shaking her head. "We were trying to see if he'd be interested in one of our Pokemon shows and he completely bailed on us!"

Misty rolled her eyes at her sister from over her shoulder. "It can't be that surprising. _I_ bail on those shows all the time."

"Yeah, but you're dysfunctional!" Violet snickered.

" _Who's_ dysfunctional?!" Misty snarled back, but huffed and turned away from her sisters a moment later. "Anyways, we were showing Froakie the gym and sort of telling it what we do here and he just took off."

Ash looked down at the frog curiously. "Maybe it wants to stay with Professor Sycamore?"

"Hardly," Sycamore said, surprising Ash again. "Froakie's the first of my Pokemon to try and get a trainer's attention so that it can leave. But every time someone new takes him, he leaves them behind and just comes back after a week or two. I thought perhaps he just didn't like the trainers who chose him, but maybe it's more than that. Perhaps he wants to travel with someone he likes."

"I'd be totally down for that if someone else could run the gym properly," Misty grumbled.

Lily whistled innocently. "Oh? But who would run the shows if you weren't around to keep the gym afloat?"

"There's _three_ of you!"

Sycamore rubbed the back of his head and sighed, looking troubled. "I'm sorry girls, but it seems I assessed Froakie's requirements for a trainer incorrectly. I apologize for bothering you."

"It's cool," Daisy waved at Froakie, who could just see her since it turned its head to the side a bit. "See you later, sweetie!"

Froakie turned and glared in the opposite direction. It seemed Daisy's frivolous attitude was only making him angrier. Ash stared down at the little creature and wondered if it would feel more relaxed after getting some of the energy out of its system. Maybe if it had a trainer take it seriously for once, it would behave better.

Ash looked up at Sycamore. "Do you mind if I battle Froakie?"

Froakie jerked its head up to look at Ash as Sycamore blinked in surprise. "Well…I don't mind, but why?"

"I think he's stressed out," Ash replied. "Maybe an outlet would help him settle?"

"Perhaps," Sycamore thought about it for a moment and nodded. "Very well. I had a feeling he was stressed, but I thought that being in a water type gym with other Pokemon might help him calm down. Let's see if a battle makes any improvement."

Ash looked down at Froakie. "You up for a fight?"

Froakie glared at him, a glint of something like excitement building in his eyes, and nodded silently.

Misty could already see the fireworks setting off in the frog's attitude and grinned, jerking her thumb towards the pool. "Let's take this to the battlefield."

Froakie squirmed out of Ash's hands and practically bolted for the opposite side of the pool, stopping on the farthest floating platform and turning to face him. Misty led Sycamore and her sisters to the sidelines while Ash took his place on the challenger's side of the field.

"Espeon?" Ash asked the psychic by his feet.

Espeon glanced from Froakie to the pool and wrinkled her nose in distaste. She loved baths, but there _was_ such a thing as too much water. She shook her head, tail tips twitching.

Ash smirked. "I got it."

He looked out towards Froakie, who glared at Ash and croaked especially loudly to challenge him. It wanted someone to take it seriously for once.

Alright.

He'd take it seriously.

Pyro erupted from his pokeball and landed on the closest floating platform with a massive roar, shaking the air around him and spitting embers from his open maw. He glared at Froakie, somewhat disappointed by the small stature of his opponent, but a fight was a fight.

Froakie's eyes went wide at the sight of the Charizard and he quieted for a moment as the beast glared at him from across the pool.

Misty looked at Ash in disbelief. "Isn't that too much?"

"No," Ash replied shortly. His eyes narrowed as he regarded Froakie. No, it wasn't too much. He had a feeling it was just what Froakie needed.

It had gotten over its momentary awe of the Charizard and grinned nervously. If Ash had to put a word to Froakie's expression, he would almost say it was eager.

He lifted a hand and gave a "come on" motion with his hand. "Bring it. Pyro, you've got free reign."

Pyro snarled eagerly and lashed his tail. Froakie let out a high-pitched cry in retaliation and leapt up, unleashing a stream of bubbles from its mouth. Pyro snorted and used one of his wings as a shield, intercepting the Bubble attack and blocking it with ease. He took it for a few seconds before blowing his wing back, blasting away Froakie and the bubbles with a burst of wind.

The frog yelped and landed on one of the platforms, but he only had a moment before Pyro was on him. Froakie got a quick look at the Charizard's fanged grin before a Dragon Claw slammed into him and sent him flying.

Lily winced. "Ouch!"

Although it was stunned for a moment, Froakie surprised everyone by twisting in midair and creating a sphere of water in its hands, which it launched at Pyro. Ash realized it was a Water Pulse attack.

Pyro sneered and opened his jaws, then clamped down on the Water Pulse and simply swallowed it whole. Froakie could only stare in midair as Pyro opened his mouth again, this time unleashing a blast of flame that smote the frog and blew it back again. Froakie landed hard on one of the platforms, smoking and weakened.

Ash sighed. That was probably it. Froakie had wanted someone to take it seriously and he had.

He got the surprise of his life when Froakie, still conscious somehow, got back up and glared at Pyro.

The Charizard stared at his opponent dubiously. Surely the little frog wasn't _actually_ going to keep fighting?

Froakie took a few moments to catch its breath, then suddenly jumped into the pool and disappeared underwater.

The field went quiet for a second. Violet looked at Ash. "I think you scared Froakie away. We should probably call it."

"Not yet," Ash said, frowning. Those hadn't been the eyes of a defeated creature. Froakie still had some fight left in it and Ash was sure the last thing on its mind was running away.

No. Froakie was planning something beneath the surface of that water.

Pyro glanced back at Ash, but he only shook his head. The dragon eyed the pool warily. He had no reason to fear this opponent; their levels were completely different, and yet he found himself anticipating what this little creature would try to pull against him next.

The room was dead silent for nearly a minute.

A ripple of water at Pyro's flank had the dragon slashing, but he garbled in surprise when the Froakie he hit vanished into thin air. His head jerked up as, suddenly, over a dozen Froakies shot out of the water and lunged at him.

Ash's eyes widened in surprise. Froakie knew Double Team, and it wasn't some half-baked attempt at the technique either. The frog had this move mastered down to the letter, with each clone moving differently somehow from the others. Even Espeon was stunned by how _advanced_ the move was.

A storm of Bubbles, Water Pulses, and Pound attacks came down on Pyro, who lifted both wings to shield himself. The illusions did nothing of course, but the Charizard growled when he felt a Water Pulse explode on his right wing, no matter how weak it was. He spun towards the impact and let loose a jet of flame, but the real Froakie had already bounced from a platform nearby and gotten away.

Pyro snarled and unleashed a burst of wind with his wings, roaring as the Double Team was destroyed by the sudden gale. He glared as Froakie jumped at him again, one of its hands glowing as it tried to use Pound. Pyro caught the attack with one hand that dwarfed the frog's, then hurled Froakie away. It flipped to regain its balance in the air and landed with ease, out of breath, but still eager to fight.

Ash couldn't believe what he was seeing. This little Pokemon was incredibly talented to be surviving against Pyro as well as he was. And he could see in Froakie's eyes a light that would never die- a desire to fight and fight and _fight_ until it won.

Froakie created a Water Pulse and leapt at Pyro, attempting to strike the dragon directly in his face, but Pyro spun and slammed his tail into the frog, sending him skipping across the water until he smacked into one of the platforms. And still, Froakie would not surrender. He leapt right back onto the platform and tried something else.

Watching the brave little creature fight, never tiring, inventive, and with eyes that were so very _alive_ , Ash was instantly reminded of Paul's Chimchar. Froakie had the same drive and desire to fight endlessly. It would not go down because it was tired or hurt; that unbreakable willpower it possessed would not allow it. The only thing that would end this battle was a decisive blow that knocked it out cold. He didn't want to hurt Froakie any more than was necessary, so Ash watched calmly as the frog continued its assault and waited for an opportunity to finish things.

Froakie tried kicking at Pyro with what looked like Bounce, but Pyro blocked the move with one arm and just blew Froakie away by swinging his arm back. The frog spun with the momentum of its flight and landed on the wall, then launched itself back at Pyro with a wild cry and a Water Pulse forming in one hand.

Ash snapped as soon as Froakie was too close to try and avoid a counterattack. "Thunder Punch!"

Pyro's fist crackled with lightning and the next moment, Froakie was slammed into the platform at the dragon's feet. The frog's body went limp, undoubtedly unconscious.

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Ash blinked as he realized his heart was beating a little faster than normal and smiled, amused. Froakie had gone and gotten him fired up without him even realizing it.

How interesting.

Pyro lifted Froakie up with one hand and regarded the unconscious frog with a fascinated expression on his face. He glanced at Ash and rumbled deeply in his throat. He liked this little creature. It had a lot of spunk taking him on and making him run back and forth to keep up with it.

Ash gestured for Pyro to bring Froakie to him and knelt down to unzip his bag, pulling out a potion and a revive. He broke the casing over the powdered medicine and poured it into Froakie's mouth. It wouldn't completely heal him, but it would shock his body back into consciousness so that the healing process could begin. Already, the little frog was starting to come to.

He was spraying the potion over Froakie's wounds as Misty came over, her eyes a little wide. "Is Froakie okay?"

"He's fine," Ash replied, spraying more potion over a gash on Froakie's arm. "Pyro let him have it, but he knows what's too much. Froakie will be alright- he'll just be sore for a couple of days."

"How much was Charizard holding back?" Daisy asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought Froakie would go down after the first shot."

"You'll have to ask him," Ash smirked, glancing at his partner. Pyro huffed and crossed his arms, ignoring the question. But Ash knew his starter well enough to know that Pyro hadn't been holding back very much. Oh, he had hit Froakie with only a few actual moves- Dragon Claw, a couple short bursts of Flamethrower, and then the finishing Thunder Punch, but he'd been smacking the frog around with his full physical might.

That was why the Charizard was as quiet as he was and not flaunting his victory. He was amazed Froakie had taken that beating and fought back as long as it had.

Froakie blinked as it fully regained consciousness, but waited until Ash had finished treating him before it pulled back from the boy and lifted its eyes to look from Ash to Pyro and back again. It seemed to be deliberating something.

Finally, Froakie looked up at Ash, eyes gleaming with a stubborn determination as if to say "you're the one."

Sycamore had thought the fight harsh, but he'd been caught off-guard by Froakie's unexpected resilience and undeniable creativity against such overwhelming odds. He'd had no idea that Froakie's Double Team was as advanced as it was until now. How had Froakie developed that technique? It certainly wasn't something taught by all the new trainers it'd tagged along with and ditched; they had all been rookies who wouldn't have had the first idea how to do something like that.

Froakie had the talent, drive, and willpower to master a move like that all on its own. If that didn't clear some things up for Sycamore, nothing would have.

The water type had been abandoning trainers that it thought were unworthy of it. Trainers that it felt wouldn't take it seriously, or be able to help it reach its maximum potential and match its craving for harsh battles and greater heights.

Sycamore could see the gleam in Froakie's eyes and he knew that the little frog had found what it was looking for.

"Ash, I think you should take Froakie."

For some reason, the Professor saying that didn't come as a surprise to Ash. Maybe it was because Froakie had yet to peel its eyes away from him or because of the way he himself felt about the little creature. It was an odd experience; a kind of anticipation in his blood that demanded he train this Pokemon to his fullest capabilities.

"Is that what you want?" Ash asked the water type.

Froakie croaked quietly, but there was certainty in its tone.

 _Yes._

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, this is going to be a milestone chapter of sorts. I've kind of decided that Chapter 21- on is basically "season two" of Challenger if you will, so there are going to be some major changes from here on out. It'll probably take some time for everyone to adapt, but I think it'll be for the best.**

 **So first off, chapters are going to be a fair bit shorter from now on. This is for several reasons, chief among them I'm having difficulty writing super long chapters and keeping up with school and my other writing projects simultaneously. This will probably be the last long chapter I write for a while, and the others will likely average about 6-8k words a chapter from this point on. I'm sorry if you enjoyed the longer chapters (and I may still write one every now and again) but this is necessary for me to keep the story going. My updates have been very few and far between lately and I would like to change that since I have so much planned for Challenger :)**

 **Second, I'm probably going to stop doing review responses for a while. I did them because I felt like it might be a fun way to communicate with everyone (since I'm rarely able to respond directly to PMs) but it's kind of become redundant I think. So yeah, that might be a permanent thing. We'll see, I guess.**

 **Last of all, I don't know if I've mentioned this for a while, but under my profile is a list of trainers for Challenger and their teams, including moves, abilities, etc. If you've forgotten who owns which Pokemon in the story (it IS a pretty long story, after all) or want to check out which Pokemon know what moves, feel free to check it out.**

 **That's all for now. The next chapter will be up faster since it's going to be shorter! As ever, please review and thanks for reading!**


	23. Adaption

_Chapter Twenty Three: Adaption_

The room was a disaster zone. The lamp was knocked over, the bedsheets had been thrown all over the place, and that was just the damage Silver had seen done. The dark room, initially meant to keep his new partners calm, was now making his predicament a lot freakier.

Golbat was hanging from the ceiling fan by his clawed feet, still as a statue, with his wings folded over his body to cover his huge mouth. His eyes gleamed bright red, not leaving Silver's frozen form beneath him.

Silver stood stock-still halfway between Golbat and the door, not daring to trail his eyes away from the motionless predator. Golbat's pokeball was on the floor and out of his reach beside the bowl of food that had been intended for the bat, but was disregarded in favor of wreaking havoc as soon as Silver released him. Gawain was next to his trainer, wings raised threateningly and his bulging eyes locked onto the hanging bat.

Drilbur had been utterly terrified by the unexpectedly berserk poison type and was currently hiding under a pile of sheets on the floor. The only visible part of him was his snout, which twitched furiously to get some idea as to what was happening now.

Silver gulped silently. Golbat had not appreciated the boy's attempt to bond with him. He'd barely gotten three words out before the bat started flying around, smashing into things with his huge wings. He needed to get Golbat back into his pokeball so that he couldn't do any more damage, but fighting in here would invite the fury of Nurse Joy. Somehow, he had to get the pokeball near his feet into his hand and recall the furious bat before it could go into a frenzy again.

Not letting his eyes leave Golbat, Silver tried to kneel slowly, but the poison type hissed as soon as he started to move. Silver licked his lips nervously. This was not good.

"Why's it so dark in here?"

Silver froze as he heard the door open, followed by the sound of Ash's voice. Golbat's eyes flashed and it lunged down from the ceiling fan, but was momentarily blinded by the light from the hallway. It shrieked and pulled up slightly at the offending brightness, coming to a scrambled stop by getting its oversized mouth around Ash's shoulder and torso.

Ash just stood there for a moment and stared at the bat, which hadn't actually bitten him yet. It just had its mouth around him in an attempt to right itself, but the moment he felt the teeth put a little pressure on his shoulder, he tensed.

 _"_ _Get. Off."_

Golbat's eyes went wide at the dangerous tone and it looked up at Ash's face, still half-blinded by the hallway light. The bat twitched and its fangs brushed Ash's shoulder again, prompting the frozen boy to snarl. _"I said get off!"_

Golbat retreated this time, propelling itself back and almost into Silver, who ducked just in time to avoid a crash. The poison type returned to the ceiling fan and hung there, watching Ash carefully. It was usually a timid creature and it didn't like the threatening tone the boy had used.

Ash stared at the bat, his face pale and shivers running down his spine as he gripped his shoulder tightly with his hand. That had reminded him too much of the time Proton's Crobat took a bite out of him.

Silver was looking at Ash with a stunned expression, but the boy in question recovered after a few moments with a shaky breath. "S-sorry. That startled me."

He closed the door behind him, then glanced at Golbat, who was still watching him carefully. "Sorry about that, Golbat. You just…I thought you were going to bite me."

Golbat shuffled warily. It hadn't intended to actually bite the boy; it had merely been trying to regain its balance. It hadn't been expecting such an…aggressive response to that. Golbat had been alarmed by the dangerous tone, but now the child in question seemed to be apologetic for it…perhaps they'd both just frightened one another?

Silver tried to fix the tense atmosphere by offering Golbat the bowl of food intended for the skittish poison type. "Golbat, do you want something to eat? This is for you."

The bat snapped its attention to the proffered food and flew down with a short twist. It landed on the ground and used the single claw on each of its wing joints to crawl along the floor to the bowl. Golbat shot a few clicks of echolocation at the bowl to ensure it was safe, then began to feed greedily.

Ash sat down on his bed, ignoring the way the sheets had been ruffled by Golbat's earlier freak out. Silver glanced at him. "Are you okay?"

Ash nodded and replied quietly. "I'm okay now. Golbat just startled me. I'm sorry for snapping like that…I don't know if I've ever told you or Luna, but I was bitten by a Crobat once. Golbat got its mouth around me and I…kind of lost it for a moment."

"Wow…um, yeah you never mentioned that," Silver managed.

"It's not something I like talking about," Ash laughed shortly. "But I'm okay now. I was actually going to ask if you wanted to come train outside. Luna just got back and she wanted to go a few rounds. Cinder evolved and Mankey's raring to go."

Silver nodded and glanced at his team. "I think Gawain could use a battle. Drillbur and Golbat can watch, but they probably need to sit this one out. Speaking of which…"

He crouched and looked under the bed on the opposite side of the room, where the mole's nose was still barely visible from under the blankets. "It's okay now, Drillbur. You can come out."

The mole wasn't so sure, but he slowly emerged with his nose snuffling and his sharp claws carefully poised to defend himself if it was necessary. Golbat paused at the sight of the mole and watched it for a moment, sending a few clicks in Drillbur's direction, but eventually deemed the ground type unthreatening and returned to eating.

Silver glanced at Ash. "I'm going to let Golbat finish eating, then we'll come outside."

Ash nodded, standing back up now that he had recovered from his shock and made for the door. "See you out there."

He left, careful to avoid letting in too much light from the hallway, and closed the door quietly behind him. Silver faced Golbat, who had just devoured the last of the food and now looked much more docile. The huge bat let out a belch which prompted his new trainer to smirk somewhat.

"Sorry for the rough introduction, Golbat," Silver apologized whilst getting the poison type's attention. "My name is Silver. These are Gawain and Drillbur, my partners. Anyway, well…I captured you in Mount Moon. That means I'm your trainer from now on, if you want to tag along. I'll train you and help make you stronger. What do you think?"

Golbat let out another belch as it considered the offer. Mount Moon had been getting a little…well, dull. Golbat had grown up in those caves and although it would miss them, it had felt a yearning to explore the outside world from the moment it evolved. This wasn't exactly what it had in mind, but there was a promise of food on the table and it was hard to go wrong with that. Sure, why not?

Golbat hissed in agreement after a short consideration, prompting Silver to smile in relief. "Good. Well, let's go outside. It's getting dark, but I'd like for you and Drillbur to get used to light in small amounts from now on. A lot of our traveling and training will be done during the day. Come on, then."

* * *

Ash and Luna were waiting for them outside, having already released their Pokemon to begin their evening training. Most of them were currently warming up or already engaging in light spars- Douse, for example, had pulled aside Mankey to begin working on the smaller fighting type's physique on Luna's request.

Silver blinked at the sight of Froakie sparring against the newly-evolved Cinder. The bubble frog was doing a good job driving his larger opponent crazy, leaping to and fro and firing off bubbles to harass the angry feline. Cinder snarled and spat gouts of flame, but he was letting his aggression get the better of him and couldn't keep up with the water type's more focused agility.

"Cinder, you gotta calm down!" Luna called to her starter, holding Kakuna in her arms while she gave her orders. "It's pestering you on purpose!"

Cinder yowled in fury as a Water Pulse blasted his side and left him drenched. The feline was still overloaded with hormones from his recent evolution and it made his temper a lot harder to reign in. Froakie, as calm and focused as his trainer, easily evaded the next swipe of claws with room to spare.

Silver approached the battlefield with Gawain, Drillbur, and Golbat in tow. The latter two were uneasy with the evening light, but it wasn't overwhelming to them. It would just take adjusting to. They'd lived in darkness prior to this.

Luna spotted them approaching and grinned. "Finally got outside, did you?"

Silver smirked. "I was busy. Mind if we join in?"

Ash nodded. "I'll let you take over. I think Cinder's going to try and tear Froakie apart if we annoy him much more."

Froakie snickered, prompting the cat to spit and hiss in rage, but the bubble frog obeyed his new trainer and leapt back to Ash in one bound. Ash glanced at Luna and Silver as the latter took up his spot on the battlefield. "I'm going to put my team through some training exercises. You guys should focus on battling if you want to challenge the Cerulean Gym soon. Luna, I'll let you know when Mankey's ready to ditch training with Douse."

"Thanks!" Luna called back. She grinned at Silver as Ash left them to their own devices. "Ready to lose?"

"Try me," Silver challenged. He looked at Drillbur and Golbat. "You two stay with me and watch. Gawain?"

The Vibrava chittered, his wings twitching as he skittered onto the battlefield. Cinder hissed aggressively and paced back and forth, the flame sac on his throat flaring in preparation for a fight.

"Go!" Silver and Luna shouted, prompting their starters to lunge at each other.

* * *

Cinder glared at Gawain in annoyance, still irritated by his defeat the night prior during their training battle. In the end, Cinder had just been too edgy from the rush of hormones in his body to focus enough to defeat the dragon type. It had been a lot closer than any of their prior training battles, but the victory was still sound.

Luna knelt down and scratched the cat's ears soothingly. "It's alright, Cinder. Just give yourself some time to adjust, okay? It'll get better."

Cinder meowed piteously, no less annoyed, but settled slightly from the promise of improvement. His ears twitched at the sound of so many people around them; this tournament thing they were waiting on was noisy.

The three trainers had gotten up early for the Cerulean Gym's Water Pokemon catching contest. While Ash didn't feel the need to actually catch a water type since he'd just gotten Froakie, he'd decided to come along and offer Silver and Luna some tips before they started the event. Well, most of the advice was actually for Silver because Ash and Luna fished all the time in Alola and even by the ocean near Pallet Town.

"You'll get to rent fishing rods, but make sure not to reel in your lure too quickly," he instructed to an intently listening Silver. "A lot of the times, the Pokemon will back off when the bait hits the water and they'll wait for a while to see if it's safe. If you get a nibble, don't pull on the rod- wait until you feel the Pokemon take it completely before you try setting the hook. Luna can help you with timing and stuff. And Luna, if you guys take one of the boats, don't try fighting in them. Try and reel whatever it is to the shore and fight there."

"Yep, I know," she replied cheerily while placing her hands behind her head.

Ash glanced around the gathered crowd, but wasn't able to spot one of his rivals at the moment. "Paul should be around here, too. He's a good trainer, but he's a little more serious than I am. He'll probably go off on his own, but if you run into some trouble, you might try and find him or Misty. They're both strong trainers. Just look for his Electabuzz, he'll probably have it with him for this event."

"Serious dude named Paul with an Electabuzz, got it," Luna grinned. "So what are you going to do while we're off fishing?"

Ash inclined his head towards the other side of the city. "I'm going to do some more solo training. I need to assess Froakie and Rhydon. Actually, I really need to spend more time with my team instead of looking for more Pokemon to capture at the moment. If I don't work with them enough, some of them might fall behind in training."

Silver nodded. "Makes sense. Right, well good luck."

"Same to you," he replied before turning away and taking off.

Ash didn't actually make it too far before he heard someone calling his name and paused as Misty jogged up to him.

She tilted her head curiously at him. "Not gonna join in?"

He shook his head. "I need to assess Froakie and another member of my team. Don't want to get overloaded with too many new Pokemon."

"Gotcha," Misty smirked at him unexpectedly. "Well, too bad for you. The League gave us a really nice Pokemon for the "King" prize, if you will. It looks like most of the trainers joining in this time are rookies, so I'll probably be the only one strong enough to catch it~"

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Is it even fair for you to join in?"

"Oh, hush, even I don't know where the Pokemon will go," Misty shrugged. "They were set loose this morning, but we've got the river area blocked off so they have to stay within a ten mile stretch. Even if I check my favorite fishing spots, I don't know where they'll be exactly."

That was true. Ash gave Misty a wave as he took off. "Well, good luck. Keep an eye out for Luna and Silver while you're out there, will ya?"

"Sure," Misty agreed. "Have fun training all day."

* * *

Once he was a fair distance from Cerulean City, Ash raised his arms above his head to stretch. He'd had a couple of solo training sessions lately, but it had been a while since he'd had the opportunity to devote an entire day to training alone with his team. And there was lots to do.

He had to assess Rhydon _and_ Froakie. He had a general grasp of their individual strengths- Ash was pretty sure that Rhydon was about as strong as Sobek for sheer power or maybe a little weaker. He was definitely the tankiest member of the team, though, easily above even Spectre for how much damage he could simply take.

Froakie was a bit more ambiguous since he had only seen the frog fight twice, but Ash was certain Froakie was currently his weakest member. Although he'd given Cinder a fair fight, he hadn't been able to do a lot of damage and he could do little more than annoy Pyro (not that that was unexpected of course) even with his water attacks. His techniques were advanced, sure, but he didn't have the power to make them effective for the time being.

On top of that, he had to decide where to take the rest of his team from this point on. There was a lot to do, new techniques to be developed, strengths to be built on and weaknesses to be addressed…

Well…maybe he needed to step back and think this through from the beginning.

Ash sat down, leaning against a tree and pulled out his PokeNav. He tapped on the notes feature and started a new page.

He started by numbering his team from strongest to weakest in terms of their current power, and then would go from there. None of their techniques would help in a battle if they couldn't deliver the damage they needed, after all.

This part went by quickly. From strongest to weakest, his team came out as thus: Douse, Pyro, Sobek, Espeon, Rhydon, Jasmine, Arctus, Spectre, and Froakie.

Douse simply held the most raw strength out of his entire team- his body was just built with stronger muscles. Pyro and Sobek were pretty close in terms of power and Rhydon could deal a massive amount of damage if Ash could ever get the rock type to work with him. He'd taken an educated guess and assumed that Rhydon was a little weaker than Espeon at the moment because he wasn't sure where the full extent of the rock type's prowess lay, though he figured they were probably pretty close.

Rhydon had, after all, once destroyed a cliff and Ash knew for a fact that he had some serious power behind every attack. He just had to figure out how to approach it.

Looking at it, Ash realized with a grimace that his team was very divided in terms of power- he had a group of monsters and a group of Pokemon that desperately needed more training to ever match those monsters. Jasmine was his middle ground- she definitely wasn't weak, but he'd be lying if he said he thought she could take on any of his really powerful fighters. That being said, she was also a fair bit stronger than the rest of his team.

Arctus was strong, but he hadn't had as much time to train with Ash, so he was behind Jasmine a little. Spectre, Ash realized, he'd neglected by focusing too much on his technique and abilities rather than his power and Froakie was just the weakest and youngest member of the team at the moment.

Next, Ash chose to address the team by their technical prowess and skills. This meant looking at each member as an individual and assessing their techniques, combination attacks, general success in battle, the number of moves they knew, and their adaptability in a fight. The second list went as such: Spectre, Espeon, Pyro, Jasmine, Douse, Froakie, Sobek, Arctus, and Rhydon.

He sighed as he realized where his problem was lying. He had Pokemon that were relying on one extreme or the other, and not even half of his team were every well-prepared in both aspects of his assessment. If Ash had to guess, only Espeon and Pyro, as well as maybe Jasmine and Douse were well-rounded enough for him to say with confidence they had a good shot at defeating most opponents thanks to their power and technical abilities. The remaining five members of his current team either had too much focus in technique or too much focus in power.

Ash had devoted nearly all his time with Spectre developing the ghost's technique, but rarely ever his power. Because of that, his techniques were top notch, but he had to use them perfectly in a fight for him to have any chance of winning. The only thing that kept him from losing most fights due to his lack of power was his durability and the use of Shadow Sneak to evade enemy attacks. That needed to be addressed immediately.

Douse, while definitely strong and with some good technical skills, needed some brushing up on. Ash knew Douse could destroy opponents in close range, but he had a glaring long-range weakness that needed to be fixed.

Sobek suffered similar issues- Ash had really only taught him a few combinations and almost all of them relied on use of Sand Tomb. He needed to change things up and give Sobek some more options instead of relying on his power and ability to use Moxie in every fight.

Jasmine had the opposite problem. She was lacking more in power rather than ability in Sobek's case, but she definitely needed fine-tuning and work to really make use of any strength she gained.

Arctus needed lots of work- he was one of his weaker Pokemon and Ash hadn't even started training him in unique techniques or combinations yet. By far, he needed to be worked with the most. Froakie was in a similar boat, but his techniques and combos were more developed, though to what degree he couldn't yet say.

Rhydon was Rhydon. Power, but little to no technique to back it up. He needed a lot of training to make that power useful- moves like Metal Burst would only make it easier for him to be defeated if he couldn't use them effectively.

All in all, they had a lot of work to do. Ash decided to divide the training up for the time being- he needed some of his Pokemon to focus on getting stronger and others to work on their technical skills.

He divided his team into three groups. One group would consist of Pokemon who needed to focus on improving their overall power, one group would focus on technical abilities, and the third, more well-rounded group would work on both with power sparring.

The first group was comprised of Spectre, Arctus, Froakie, and Jasmine. It was his biggest group and the one which he felt probably needed the most attention.

The second group was Rhydon, Sobek, and Douse. They'd be focusing more on their technical skills and learning new techniques and adaptability in battle.

The third group was just Pyro and Espeon. They were easily the most well-rounded of Ash's team and could improve by battling one another for the time being. Pyro hadn't fought many psychics before and Espeon needed to work on fighting opponents that frequently mixed up their attack range. There was still plenty of room for improvement and he wasn't going to just pit them against each other all day, but he felt that would give him some room to focus on the members of his team that desperately needed the attention.

Satisfied with his plans, Ash set his team loose.

"We've got all day, but this is just the start of our next phase of training," Ash told them. "Some of you need to get stronger and others need to improve their overall ability. Rhydon, Sobek, and Douse, you three are going to focus on ability training. We need to develop some new fighting strategies for you three and some new moves. We're also going to work on improving some of your current moves, as well. Sobek, I want you to work on your speed and maneuverability, and Douse needs to improve the accuracy and focus of his techniques. You two are going spar until I come by- keep things tight and don't go too wild yet, okay?"

Sobek didn't look too happy about the possibility of getting nailed by Douse multiple times, but he obeyed. Besides, it wasn't like he was just going to let the Poliwrath have his way. Ash turned to Rhydon next, who stared at him stonily.

Ash looked back steadily. "You and I are going to have a lot of one-on-one time today and you'll be fighting Espeon and Pyro at some point. For now, I want you to just warm up. Get your body ready for some heavy training. We'll be working on Metal Burst to start with."

If Rhydon had a brow to arch, he might've done it. As it was, he cocked his head to one side and nodded slowly. Whatever answer he'd been expecting, apparently that hadn't been it. The behemoth trudged off to claim a patch of land as his own and began to prepare his techniques.

Ash looked to his next group- the power team. "You four are just going to focus on getting stronger right now. There's a pretty big power gap between you guys and the rest of the team, okay? We're going to close that gap and catch up with the others. We'll dive right into heavy training- so you guys are battling Pyro and Espeon."

He got a lot of surprised looks from that order, but Ash had a plan. He'd thought about this before he decided on actually going through with it.

Before now, he'd had his team battle against other members of about the same level. But now, with the gap in power being as large as it was, he had to change things so the weaker members of his team could catch up to the stronger half. He was, after all, training them to fight Pokemon that would be even stronger than Pyro and his other powerhouses- it made more sense to get them used to battling Pokemon of that level rather than continue to fight Pokemon their level or lower.

If they were going to improve, they needed that raw experience against an opponent who was much stronger than they were. Jasmine and the others wouldn't learn as much or get stronger nearly as quickly if they continued to fight weaker enemies. So he was going to speed up that process, although it was going to be really hard for them at first. That was why he'd brought along a large supply of potions and revives for this first day of training. They'd get better about it as time went on, but this first day was going to be the roughest by far.

"The four of you are allowed to team up or fight them on your own, but your goal is to defeat them," Ash explained. "We'll be doing these fights a lot from now on, so don't worry if you can't defeat them at first. The whole point of this training is to get you used to fighting opponents who are stronger than you. I think it'll be a good experience for you guys."

The four Pokemon he'd mentioned looked a little nervous of the idea, but they had faith in their trainer. Ash hadn't led them astray so far- well, Arctus and Froakie didn't know him as well as Jasmine or Spectre, but they still liked and trusted Ash. If he told them it would be a good experience, they were more inclined to believe him than not.

Ash glanced at Pyro and Espeon. "You two can fight them however you like. Practice any new techniques you want as well, just make sure not to go overboard. Other than that, don't hold back."

Pyro grinned savagely and nodded, eagerly looking down on his smaller teammates. Espeon only swished her tail and let out a soft cry in response. She wasn't as battle-hungry as her fiery partner, but she wouldn't give her less-experienced teammates any leisure. She wanted them to get stronger as well, if only because she was more fond of these four than most of the other brutes on the team.

Well, Spectre was kind of annoying to her, but he wasn't intolerable. Maybe getting pulverized a few times would beat some respect into him.

Probably not, Espeon decided as she studied the ornery ghost.

Ash stepped back a fair distance before calling to them. "Start whenever you like. Pyro, remember what I said!"

The Charizard gave a friendly growl as a promise to not overkill his opponents, but Ash had set him loose and he was going to show his junior teammates why _he_ was at the top.

Ash started a stopwatch on his PokeNav and began to walk towards Rhydon, only pausing _slightly_ when he heard an explosion from Pyro behind him. He sighed a little despite knowing how necessary it was.

He was going to be using a lot of potions today, wasn't he?

Rhydon was warming up as he'd been instructed to, spinning his drill frequently as he swung his arms and occasionally shot spires of rock from the ground around him. He paused and watched Ash as he approached, but the boy shook his head and gestured for him to continue. Rhydon snorted loudly and continued his actions.

Ash walked around Rhydon carefully, studying the rock type to see how he liked to move. If he was going to work with Rhydon differently than the rest of his team, he needed to know what made the behemoth tick- what movements he preferred and which moves he would rather use over others.

Long story short, he had to see how Rhydon liked to fight and then would adjust his own style accordingly.

Rhydon seemed to prefer staying in just one spot, he noticed first. Whereas the rest of his team were constantly moving, Rhydon barely left a circle of space that was about ten feet or so in diameter. Given how large the rock type was, it meant he did little more than shuffle around.

As Ash recalled, Rhydon hadn't done much moving when they first encountered him, either. During the fight with Aerodactyl, the most movement Rhydon had made was using Stone Edge to lift himself out of Sobek's Sand Tomb. It seemed he preferred to batter at foes from a distance and crush those who dared get too close.

But there was a glaring weakness with that strategy Ash had realized after battling Brock's Rampardos- if the opponent was stronger than Rhydon, remaining in one place put him at a terrible disadvantage. But he also realized it was probably the best strategy for Rhydon to use- all that armor on his body was incredibly heavy and running around would drain Rhydon's stamina that much faster.

So if Rhydon couldn't move that much in a fight, and if doing so left him open to enemy attack, what was the solution?

Ash had thought really hard about this and believed he'd come up with at least a tentative solution- first and foremost, Rhydon's defenses. If Rhydon was going to master Metal Burst, he needed to increase his stamina and defensive capabilities drastically. When they fought Rampardos, Rhydon's armor had been rent with ease. Mind you, Rampardos had probably been the most physically powerful Pokemon he'd fought aside from Professor Oak's Charizard, but still. Rhydon's lack of mobility was a huge negative, so he had to compensate with an equally huge positive.

Armor. Stamina. Durability. That was the first thing they had to master, Ash had decided. Rhydon had to be able to take big hits like a tank and he had to keep it up for an extended period of time. Most fights with Rhydon would probably take time because of this strategy, so it was critical that Rhydon had the energy and defensive reserves to last longer than the average Pokemon. And if Rhydon's stamina increased, that opened the possibility for some extra mobility should it be needed.

The second step would be ranged attacks and creativity. If Rhydon had to fight an opponent at a distance, he needed to be able to attack and defend from a single point on the field. To make the attacks successful, they'd need to get creative- simply firing off Stone Edge attacks would be easy for any experienced opponent to dodge. They'd have to mix things up enough to keep an enemy guessing.

The same went for his defenses. Rhydon, no matter how tanky he became, wouldn't be able to withstand every attack head-on. Ash had decided to try teaching him some defensive moves that would act as a cushion against incredibly powerful attacks, softening their impact on Rhydon's body and leaving the brunt of the damage to be taken by shields.

There was a lot of work to be done and Ash knew that he and Rhydon didn't have the best relationship at the moment. But he didn't want to give up on the behemoth. He saw those attacks, that mighty strength, and unbreakable pride, and couldn't help but be reminded of Giovanni's Rhyperior.

He _needed_ to see Rhydon defeat that beast one day.

He waited for a few more minutes before interrupting Rhydon's warm-up. "That's enough."

Rhydon stopped and turned towards the boy, chin lifted high in arrogance. Ash probably needed to curb that pride of his, but addressing it now might only antagonize their relationship further. Ash would gain Rhydon's respect the same way he had the rest of his team- with time, effort, and patience.

"You're strong," Ash began simply. "I could tell that from the moment we met. But the opponents we're going to fight in the future are going to be a lot stronger than any of us are right now."

Rhydon snorted in disbelief, but Ash smiled slightly. "You might not believe it now, but if I told you one of those opponents was a Rhyperior, what would you say?"

Rhydon blinked, but then lifted his chin higher, spinning his drill with a deep growl. Ash smirked. Undeterred, eh?

"You and I have the same confidence, I guess," he agreed, his grin taking a slightly wild edge. "I'd love to see you defeat that monster. But it'll mean a lot of hard work, so let's not waste time."

"We're going to start with your defenses," Ash began. Rhydon sneered arrogantly and beat one of his powerful arms against his chest with a mighty slam. "I don't doubt you've got strong armor, but I want it to be the strongest there is. It's got room for improvement- don't pretend you can't get stronger."

Rhydon seemed like he wanted to dismiss Ash's claim, but he hadn't yet forgotten the way Rampardos had smashed his stone hide as though it were mere cardboard. Okay, so he _could_ improve in some places.

"The next time we battle that Rampardos, and we will battle it again," Ash went on. "Your armor won't even dent under the impact of its attacks. That's what we're going for. We're going to hammer your armor with everything we have and then some until it can take any attack we throw its way. Understand?"

Rhydon bared his fangs viciously. Now Ash was speaking his language. All that ridiculous talk of moving about and wasting valuable energy had been getting on Rhydon's nerves. Why move when he could shrug anything off and pulverize foes who dared get too close to him?

This was more his style and Rhydon felt slightly more comfortable knowing this trainer was flexible. He could adjust.

Well, Rhydon would see how successful he was in time, he supposed.

Ash and Rhydon paused as another loud explosion ripped out behind them and they turned towards the source to see a large cloud of smoke a short distance away. Ash blinked when he saw Spectre, Jasmine, Arctus, and Froakie all stunned and defeated as Espeon's eyes ceased to glow with psychic power and Pyro landed with a loud crash. His two stronger Pokemon had a few injuries, but they hardly looked fazed by the fight.

He glanced at his PokeNav and paused the stopwatch. Five minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Not a bad start- even though Spectre and the others were weaker than Pyro and Espeon, they had been trained for a while now (with the exception of Froakie, of course) and they were still good battlers. It wasn't as though the fight had been a one-sided stomp, but it was clear they weren't strong enough to defeat their two superior teammates for the time being.

"That's our starting point, then," Ash decided, saving the time on a note page. He'd study their individual strengths in the next bout and go from there with individual training in between these team fights. "Pyro, Espeon! Give them a rest and come over here. You four take a break!"

Pyro and Espeon came over to their trainer as their four, stunned teammates let out groans to let Ash know they heard him. He sympathized with them, but this was necessary for them to improve as fast as possible. They'd have a short break.

Then it'd be back through the wringer.

Ash glanced back Pyro and Espeon, who were glaring at Rhydon stiffly. Rhydon spun his drill and glared back aggressively. Ash frowned. "Enough of that. I'm not going to make you three get along, but I expect you to behave yourselves when we're training. Am I understood?"

Rhydon had to give the boy some credit for having the brass balls to order the three of them around the way he did. He didn't waver and held every confidence that his authority would be respected. When the behemoth glanced at Ash, he saw a stern, no-nonsense look in his eyes that demanded the order be obeyed.

If he'd been a one of Rhydon's kind, he'd have made a damn good herd leader. So Rhydon relented and ceased his aggression- for now, at least.

"Good," Ash said, then gestured to an empty patch of terrain a short distance away. "Rhydon, I need you to make a cluster of Stone Edge blades around there. Let's see…thirty is probably a good start."

Rhydon tilted his head dubiously and Ash explained. "We're going to use those blades as a way to measure how much damage your Metal Burst does. I also want you to be able to use Stone Edge with as little effort as possible. Your stamina is going to be important during battles."

Rhydon nodded, turning towards the spot Ash had instructed and stomping his foot. Focusing slightly, he produced a cluster of stone spires, each about as thick as a tree trunk and packed tightly together. Once Ash made sure there were thirty of the spires up and ready, he backed away a distance and looked at Pyro and Espeon.

"You two are going to attack Rhydon with everything you have. Don't hold back- we're starting this training heavy and we're keeping it heavy. When I give the order, you'll stop attacking. Rhydon, you have to let me know when you can't take any more of their moves. Don't give me that look, I have to know what is too much so I can time our attacks right in a real battle. Slap your tail against the ground when you reach your limit and then fire off Metal Burst at those spires. We'll gauge how much damage you can take by the number of spires you can destroy with one Metal Burst."

The three of them looked eager for the training- even Espeon. Pyro and Espeon could take out some of their frustrations with Rhydon by beating the rock type senseless and Rhydon could strengthen his armor as much as possible. They all won.

Once he was a safe distance away, Ash gave the order. "Do it."

What followed was a furious barrage of attacks courtesy of Pyro and Espeon with almost every single move they knew. Flamethrowers, Metal Claws, Brick Breaks, Shadow Balls, Iron Tails, Psybeams, and so on. Rhydon was virtually buried beneath the endless assault and Ash actually had to shift around so he was looking at Rhydon from behind in order to watch the rock type's tail for the signal.

He was amazed by how long Rhydon withstood the attacks from two of his strongest Pokemon working in tandem. Rampardos had been ridiculously strong, so maybe that fight had made Ash underestimate how vast Rhydon's armor and stamina really were. It took almost three minutes of endless attacks before the rock type finally slammed his tail into the ground.

Ash shouted instantly. "Enough!"

Pyro and Espeon stopped, each of them immensely satisfied by the exercise. Rhydon shuddered in place, looking battered and hurt, but gathering a mass of silver energy in his right arm. The sphere that formed around his hand was a little bigger than it had been when they fought Rampardos and Ash didn't hesitate to give the order. "Metal Burst!"

Rhydon twisted towards the rock spires and hurled the sphere of silver energy at them with a roar. The sphere crashed into the cluster of stone and exploded violently.

Ash threw his arm up, squinting against the flash of incredibly bright silver light as it assaulted his eyes. There was a deep roar as the explosion reached its peak and then dissipated. Blinking away the spots in his vision, Ash surveyed the damage.

Most of the stone spires had been blown into smithereens. In fact, to such a degree, that he counted the number that were destroyed by the ones that remained.

"Nine, ten, eleven left over" Ash finished. "You can destroy nineteen of them right now in one go. That's your current limit."

Rhydon staggered, kneeling to place both of his arms on the ground and pant for breath. Ash walked over to the rock type, studying the damage to his armor. It wasn't as badly rent as it had been when they fought Rampardos, but it was as bad as he'd seen aside from that time. In a real battle, Rhydon wouldn't have been able to fight on from this point.

"Okay…" Ash thought it over for a few moments as he retrieved a potion from his bag and set about repairing the damage to Rhydon's hide. "We'll cut thirty seconds from the next attempt and try again. When we're battling for real, I want you to be able to keep fighting in case something goes wrong with Metal Burst."

He made a mental note to buy some supplements at the Cerulean Market that was rich in iron and zinc to naturally strengthen Rhydon's hide. Those were common ingredients in most rock-type foods, who required the extra minerals to improve their armor and keep them healthy. General Pokemon food was good for most species, but supplements were ideal for unique types, although it was more expensive. But for Rhydon to go through this rigorous training, he would need that edge and it wasn't like Ash was short on money right now, either.

"That's the first attempt done," Ash told Rhydon as the beast caught his breath. "Rest up, recover your stamina, and replace those stone spires so there are thirty again. When you're ready, Pyro and Espeon will come back and we'll repeat this. We're going through this exercise at least four more times today, six if you can take it."

Rhydon growled in agreement. He had to admit, Pyro and Espeon packed a punch even against his armor, but he could go another nine rounds with them today. Maybe even ten.

Ash smiled and pat the rock type's thick hide. "Good work. Now get rested and prepare for the next round. Pyro, Espeon, we're going back to Spectre and the others. It's time for the second fight."

They'd lasted about five and a half minutes the first time. He would have to see if they lasted any longer in this next round.

* * *

By the end of the day, Ash was pleased with the progress they'd made.

Sobek and Douse were already looking more nimble and their attacks looked more focused and precise. Sobek had been hit less and less by Douse as the day went on, but each hit he took was more focused than before. Douse was also becoming quicker and more accurate against the wily croc, making Sobek work to dodge every blow, but also having to work to land any attack against him.

Rhydon's armor was already looking stronger. After shortening the amount of time he was subjected to Espeon and Pyro's unyielding assaults, Ash found that Rhydon could destroy about fourteen spires and still retain enough energy to fight on afterwards. The number decreased as they day went on and his Pokemon grew more and more tired, but it was a good starting point and Ash felt that Rhydon was making excellent progress. For the first time, he could honestly say that their training together had been a complete success.

The most progress had been seen by Jasmine, Spectre, Arctus, and especially Froakie. As the day went on and they fought Pyro and Espeon over and over again, he could visibly see the improvements- their attacks started to get stronger in order to do any meaningful damage to the two more powerful Pokemon and they were getting faster and better about dodging the devastating moves their foes unleashed. By the sixth bout, they were able to keep fighting for almost ten minutes before Pyro and Espeon finally knocked them all out.

Jasmine was getting faster and stronger. Ash was starting to have trouble keeping up with her whenever she slipped into Agility and her attacks were strong enough to make Pyro focus on her whenever she struck him. She wasn't just annoying to the dragon like Arctus or Froakie, she was actually doing enough damage to hurt. Ash wasn't that surprised by that- Jasmine was probably the strongest out of the four of them, but he was impressed with the progress he was seeing already.

Spectre was also improving his strength. He was as wily and durable as ever, but Ash had seen him focusing more on making his attacks stronger. It took more time to focus them to such a degree and those focused attacks rarely landed, but he was getting faster about using them and Ash had little doubt that before long, he'd be doing some real damage to Pyro and Espeon.

Arctus had done well, but Ash could also see he was having the roughest time of the bunch. His mobility was lower than the others and although he was stronger than Spectre and Froakie, his speed was lower than both of them and it made it difficult for him to attack and dodge. He made a note to include speed improvement in Arctus's individual training and a focus on more rapid attacks as well. In any case, Ash now had a definite route he wanted to take the cub and that was possibly the most important thing he'd learned for Arctus all day.

Froakie was the weakest member of the team by far, but because of that, Ash could see the improvement he made more than anyone else. He was moving faster, lasting longer, and fighting harder with every match he fought. His power was still only bothersome for Espeon and Pyro, but he made them work to hit him, leaping and flying around the field to dodge and attack, mixing things up at every turn. But his stamina was still lower than theirs and when he began to tire, he was almost exclusively the first one that was knocked out.

Espeon and Pyro were also improving in their own way; between their two-on-four battles and vicious attacks on Rhydon, they were expending even more energy than the other members of the team by far. In fact, they might have been more tired physically than the others by the end of the day, but they both looked pleased by their progress and the ceaseless training would definitely improve their stamina and power in the end.

There was improvement. Huge amounts of improvement and Ash knew it would only get better in time. They had a fresh foundation for training from this point on and new goals to reach. His team had plenty of room to grow and now they knew the direction to grow towards.

He grinned to himself as his team ate their dinner just outside the Pokemon Center, each of them looking tired, but happy from the day of hard work. Sabrina, Koga, and Blaine wouldn't know what hit them by the time their training bore fruit.

Then Giovanni would be their ultimate test.

"Hey, Ash!"

He looked up to see Luna and Silver approaching. To Ash's surprise, following just behind them was Paul.

"Hey," he nodded at them. "Everything turn out good?"

"Yup!" Luna grinned. "Our boat got destroyed, though."

"Excuse me?"

Paul stepped forward and enlarged a Dive Ball in his right hand, holding it up for Ash to see. "That so-called "king" of the tournament hit their canoe. I was in the area and heard them yelling, so I came over to find out who was making all the racket."

"Thanks for that," Silver said meekly. Ash realized now that Silver and Luna were both wearing damp clothes.

Paul scoffed. "You scared away my catch with all the noise you were making, but I got the king, so I guess we're even."

"You got the king?" Ash asked, unsurprised, but curious nonetheless. "What kind of Pokemon is it?"

The other boy smirked. "You'll have to find out tomorrow when we battle. My Pokemon are tired and I've about had enough for today. Frankly, your team looks to be about the same."

"Fair enough," he agreed. "We'll probably crash soon, anyways. Meet you here tomorrow at say…ten?"

"Done," Paul agreed, setting the Dive Ball on his belt and shoving his hands into his pockets as he left. "I look forward to beating you."

"Keep dreaming!" Ash called after him.

Luna watched him go. "He's strong. I mean, the king cut our boat in half like it was nothing, but he beat it pretty easily."

"Yeah, no surprises there," Ash agreed as Paul disappeared from their sight. He turned back to the two trainers in front of him. "So, what'd you catch?"

Silver looked uncomfortable. "Well…about that…"

"We got nothing~" Luna grinned cheekily.

"Nothi-" Ash's mouth fell open. "Wait, how?"

"We were having pretty rotten luck for the first half of the competition," Silver explained, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "The only things that were biting were Magikarp. We went further out to the edge of the tournament boundaries to find a different spot, but then the king cut our boat in half and well…it destroyed our fishing rods too. We still have the Dive Balls they gave us for the competition, but by the time we walked back to the starting point, the competition was pretty much over."

Ash sighed, but he smiled anyways. "Well, it could've been worse. At least you still have those Dive Balls- save them and we can fish for something when we get near the Rock Tunnel. There's a river around there we can try. Besides, it might be a good idea to focus on the current members of your teams. Silver, you still have a lot of work to do with Drillbur and Golbat, you know? And Luna, you need to train Mankey some more and help Kakuna evolve. I figure you two should train tomorrow, then challenge Misty the day after. Then we can leave for the Rock Tunnel."

Luna bobbed her head up and down. "Sounds like a plan! Now, I want a shower!"

"You haven't had enough water for today?" Silver joked. Ash smirked as Luna gave the other boy a playful shove.

Yeah, it probably hadn't been a good idea to catch so many new Pokemon so soon. There would be plenty of opportunities later- it wasn't like the Pokemon were going anywhere, after all.

And right now, he just wanted to focus on battling Paul tomorrow.

* * *

After a quick breakfast for him and his team, Ash headed out to the field behind the Pokemon Center by ten sharp. Luna and Silver had also gotten up to watch- Pokemon Centers were known for trainer battles early in the day, when their Pokemon were freshly rested and full of energy.

A group of trainers had already formed and were finishing a battle by the time Ash arrived. He spotted Paul and the two of them were quick to claim the field as soon as the match was over and a victor had been decided. The small crowd of trainers remained, eager to watch out for anyone who they might decide to challenge later.

Ash and Paul smirked at each other across the field, both itching for a fight.

"How do you want to want to do this?" Ash asked.

"Two on two," Paul suggested. "I need to hit the road soon."

"Fair enough," he agreed, reaching for a pokeball on his belt.

Paul pulled out the Dive Ball Ash had seen the night before and hurled it into the air. Light poured forth from it, releasing the Pokemon housed inside.

A massive, dark bird emerged, covered in black and white feathers. A gold mask in the shape of a crown, which merged with a sharp beak, made its intimidating silver-blue eyes glare at Ash imperiously. The wings, though long and robust, were not built for flight for how short and heavy they were, and each was armed with blue steel along the edges and sharp talons on the undersides. The claws on its webbed feet were sharp as well, evolved to grip thick ice with ease.

Ash had never actually seen an Empoleon in person before, but he could easily see why it had been the king of the Cerulean Tournament. No wonder Misty had wanted to catch this one. The bird was easily six feet tall and in its prime.

Paul had definitely found another powerful water type to further round out his team.

Ash released Douse in response. He couldn't think of another Pokemon on his team that could counter an Empoleon as well as the Poliwrath and he was eager to see how Douse fared against Paul's team after evolving. He'd been defeated by Tentacruel before, but what about now?

Paul got the first move. "Drill Peck."

Empoleon propelled itself forward with those powerful claws and tucked its wings in as it began to spin rapidly, aiming that razor-sharp beak at Douse's belly.

"Dodge," Ash ordered.

Douse waited until Empoleon was close before he leapt up, removing himself from the bird's path only to let out a grunt of pain as Empoleon flared out its wings and slammed one into him. The Poliwrath was knocked away by the impact and hit the ground hard, but he was only momentarily affected by the blow. Douse shook himself and got back up as Empoleon ceased its spin and landed effortlessly.

"Fury Attack."

Empoleon lunged again, readying those blade-like wings to slash at Douse. Ash waited until the bird had almost closed the distance before he countered. "Low Sweep!"

Douse ducked under the stabbing attack in an instant and drove his leg into Empoleon's foot, causing the bird to trip with an indignant shriek. As it tried to get back up, Ash followed his order immediately. "Brick Break!"

"Aqua Jet!"

Empoleon became enveloped in a veil of water and shot off as Douse's arm came chopping down, pulverizing the field instead of his foe's back. Empoleon wheeled around and began to spin, letting the water dissipate in favor of using Drill Peck again.

"Circle Throw," Ash commanded.

Douse jumped again and, like before, Empoleon flared its wings out to hit him again. But this time, Douse grabbed the wing that struck him and heaved back, using Empoleon's momentum against it as he threw the bird back to the ground with a mighty heave.

The impact cratered the ground beneath Empoleon's back, but as Douse came down to strike with Brick Break, it opened its beak with a furious screech and blasted him with an Ice Beam. Douse retaliated with his own Ice Beam and the two bolts of icy energy smote each other, creating a chunk of ice between their users. Douse stopped his output after a moment and let himself fall, only to slam into the ice and shove it towards Empoleon, who used Aqua Jet once more to escape.

Ash had to give Empoleon credit- it was a lot quicker than it looked. For such an awkward-looking Pokemon on land, it effortlessly kept up with Douse no matter what he threw at it. All that without any training so far?

No wonder it had been the king of the Cerulean Tournament. He could only imagine what a nightmare it must have been to fight in the water. Paul must have had his work cut out for him.

But its range of attacks against Douse was limited because of the Poliwrath's Water Absorb ability, something Paul was obviously well aware of as he ordered Empoleon to come back around for another Drill Peck.

Ash decided to change his method of attack. "Vacuum Wave!"

Douse unleashed a blast of pure vacuum from his fist, which slammed into Empoleon head-on and slowed its spinning just enough for Ash to seize another opportunity. "Brick Break."

Empoleon was beginning to regain its momentum, but it was still moving slowly enough for Douse to easily counter the Drill Peck this time, timing his Brick Break to strike the bird's head and smash it into the ground. Empoleon was stunned by the impact as it was driven into the ground and Douse took the chance to strike it twice more until it was evidently unconscious.

Paul recalled the water and steel type when it failed to get up and nodded. "That's more or less what I expected without any training. Poliwrath is stronger than ever, I see."

"He worked hard for it," Ash agreed. Douse flexed his bulging muscles, pleased with his performance in the fight. His training with Sobek the day prior was already starting to pay off- he'd barely been hit by Empoleon despite its remarkable speed. "Good work, Douse. Take a break."

Ash recalled Douse then and pulled out an Ultra Ball next. "I'll start this next round if you don't mind."

"By all means."

Rhydon emerged with a roar, drill spinning and arms swinging with his chin jutting up high in arrogant pride. Paul's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the behemoth rock type, but he grinned a moment later and pulled out a pokeball of his own. "Interesting."

Paul's second Pokemon was Marowak. It twirled the bone it wielded with ease, unfazed by the sight of Rhydon's aggressive posturing.

"Stone Edge," Ash ordered, beginning the fight. Rhydon's drill spun as it stomped the ground, causing a spire of rock to jut towards Marowak, who deftly dodged it.

"Bone Club," Paul countered. Marowak jumped from the rock spire and swung its glowing bone at Rhydon, who raised one arm to block. The impact was strong, but it didn't make Rhydon move more than an inch.

Rhydon roared challengingly, mocking Marowak's power. Paul sneered at its arrogance. "Bone Rush!"

Marowak's club continued to glow as it lunged at Rhydon and began a flurry of attacks that shocked Ash with its speed. Marowak weren't slouches by any means, but he never expected it to be as fast as it was. Rhydon put up both arms to guard his head, momentarily overwhelmed by the sheer pace and force of the onslaught, but he grinned viciously in anticipation.

As soon as Marowak jumped to back off from its barrage of attacks, Ash snapped. "Metal Burst!"

Paul's eyes widened as Rhydon generated a sphere of concentrated, silver energy in his hand and threw it at Marowak, striking the other ground type clean in the gut. The Metal Burst exploded with a bolt of silver light, blinding the onlookers for a few seconds.

Marowak was dazed by the blow and obviously weakened, but it shook itself and barked, ready for another round. Ash grinned and Rhydon bellowed a challenge.

"Focus Break," Paul ordered.

Marowak took a moment to concentrate its energy into the bone in its hands, then leapt at Rhydon with an empowered Brick Break attack. Ash took the challenge head-on, eager to see how Rhydon fared against one of Paul's Pokemon. "Hammer Arm!"

Rhydon's right arm glowed with orange energy as he swung at Marowak, meeting the empowered Brick Break with all the force he could muster. They were at a stalemate for a few moments, but then Rhydon slammed his tail against the ground and rocketed forward on a wave of stone. The extra momentum let him overpower Marowak and the rock type executed his advantage with ruthless force.

Marowak was pulverized into the ground by Hammer Arm, which sent cracks along the field in every direction. Rhydon pressed his arm into the stunned ground type and whirred his drill threateningly, bellowing to dare Marowak to try getting up.

Paul recalled Marowak before the fight could continue and shook his head with a smirk. "Alright, I lost that one. I didn't expect Rhydon to know Metal Burst."

"It was a surprise for me, too," Ash agreed, walking forward to pat Rhydon's thick arm. "Good work."

Rhydon whirled his drill again and bared his fangs in an arrogant grin, pleased with how he'd defeated Marowak. His arms hurt like hell after the beating they took from the surprisingly powerful ground type, but the training to strengthen his armor the day before was already starting to pay off.

He respected Ash just a little for that.

Paul walked up to meet Ash in the middle. "But remember, a trick like Metal Burst only works once in any battle, and it certainly won't work against me again now that I've seen it. You'd better find a way to fight without it next time, or you're going to lose."

"I'm aware," Ash agreed, shaking Paul's hand for good sportsmanship. "What's the score now, 2-1 in my favor?"

"Who's keeping score?"

"You were last time."

Paul actually chuckled. "Fair enough. I'm off to fight Sabrina next. Don't expect to win next time."

"Tell her I'm coming for her next."

Paul nodded, then walked off, leaving Ash satisfied from their battle and ready for another full day of training.

* * *

 **A/N: That ended up being a bit longer than I intended, but I suppose that's good for you guys, right?**

 **Actually, I wanted to address some concerns people had from the last chapter ever since Ash captured Froakie. Let me make something clear: this is still a series that takes a more realistic approach to Pokemon than the anime by far. Ash has Froakie, but I WILL NOT be bringing Ash-Greninja in unless I find a scientifically accurate (by Challenger's standards, at least) way to make it work.**

 **For example, if, IF I decide to bring in Ash-Greninja, it'll just be called Mega Greninja and I'll invent a Greninjanite Mega Stone for it. If you haven't noticed from my other stories, I don't like taking the easy way out with random anime power-ups, you know? There's gotta be a well-developed basis for it for me, otherwise I'm not satisfied with the plot. So yeah, no power-of-friendship or bond-power (*cough* Fairy Tail *cough*) in Challenger. Not in this lifetime.**

 **Anyways, as ever, please review and thanks for reading!**


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